Jess Phillips delivered a hammer blow to Keir Starmer by sharing a scathing letter calling on him to step down – accusing him of being too timid in delivering new laws to protect children
Keir Starmer has been dealt a hammer blow with the resignation of safeguarding minister Jess Phillips.
In a stathing letter she accused the PM of being too timid – saying the Government had “dilly dallyed” instead of protecting kids. The hugely-damaging memo pointed to delays bringing forward new laws to stop children sharing naked pictures – stating there was “nothing bold” about Mr Starmer’s approach.
When Labour was swept to power, it pledged to halve violence against women and girls within a decade, and Ms Phillips has been the face of that promise. But her dramatic resignation will be hard to recover from.
Last year, when Ms Phillips was the victim of vile attacks from the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, the PM said she had done “1,000 times more than they’ve (her critics) even dreamt about when it comes to protecting victims of sexual abuse”.
READ MORE: All the Labour MPs calling for Keir Starmer to quit – find out if your MP is one of themREAD MORE: Keir Starmer live: Jess Phillips resigns as third minister quits while PM fights to stay in power
But there have long been signs that she is getting frustrated with the pace of change. Ms Phillips – the biggest name so far to step down – has long been seen as an asset for the PM. She’s shown over a number of years that she can get cross-party support for policy, and is that rare breed in Westminster – a conviction politician.
She has a big personality and is well respected across Parliament, with a reputation for getting things done. There’s no doubting her desire to bring about change. You just need to see the sadness and the anger with which she reads the list of women killed by men each year to see how much she cares about her brief. But now she’s made her frustration public, joining more than 70 Labour MPs in calling for Mr Starmer to quit.
Significantly, Ms Phillips is an ally of Health Secretary Wes Streeting. Mr Streeting was the parliamentary chair of her leadership campaign in 2020.
Jess Phillips’s letter in full
Dear Keir
I want to start by first saying that we have worked closely together on Violence Against Women and Girls for many years and I have no doubt you have genuine knowledge and desire to rectify this dreadful social ill. We have started to make steps towards change whilst in government and I have been grateful for your support.
However, it would be remiss of me not to say that real change and direction in this area usually came from threats made by me in light of catastrophic mistakes. The Mandelson saga whenever it bubbled up made Number 10 kick into gear on the subject in order to prove our credentials. I will never waste a crisis to make advancements for women and girls and so demands were made and some were met.
I think you are a good man fundamentally, who cares about the right things however I have seen first-hand how that is not enough. The desire not to have an argument means we rarely make an argument, leaving opportunities for progress stalled and delayed.
Over a year ago I presented solutions, long worked on by brilliant civil servants that would end the ability for children in the UK to take naked images of themselves. 91% of online child sex abuse is self-generated by children groomed, tricked and exploited in to abuse. The technology exists to stop children being able to take naked images of themselves. We could make this possible on every phone and device in the country. We could stop this abuse. It has taken me a year to get you to agree to even threaten to legislate in this space. Not legislate, just threaten. This is the definition of incremental change. Nothing bold about it. The announcement was meant to be in March, I’m still on a promise this will happen in June, I’ve given up believing it. How many children were left without a safety net in the time we dilly dallied and worried about tech bosses?
This is just one example.
Labour governments come around rarely is the constant refrain at the moment. It’s true they are precious. Every Labour government in my and my family’s lifetime has forged progress that changed our country and the world for the better. I know you care deeply, but deeds, not words are what matter. I’m not sure we are grasping this rare opportunity with the gusto that’s needed and I cannot keep waiting around for a crisis to push for faster progress.
Decency is vital, calm curiosity is also needed, but so too are fight and drive required. Have a row, push back, make arguments, bring people along. Standing up and being counted can’t always be workshopped. Politics is as much about feelings as policy, especially at the moment.
I want a Labour government to work and I will strive as I always have for its success and popularity, but I’m not seeing the change I think I, and the country expect, and so cannot continue to serve as a minister under the current leadership.