Jess Phillips Resigns as Safeguarding Minister
Jess Phillips is a Labour MP for Birmingham Yardley. She used to be the government’s Safeguarding Minister. This job means she worked to keep people safe – especially women, girls, and children from abuse and violence.
On 12 May 2026 she resigned from her job in the government. She sent a letter to Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Why did she resign?
In her letter Jess said:
• She likes Keir Starmer as a person and knows he cares about the right things.
• But she feels the government is moving too slowly on big problems.
• One big example: stopping children from taking naked pictures of themselves online. This is a huge part of child sex abuse. Technology can help stop it, but it has taken over a year to even talk about making rules. She is worried many children are still at risk.
She wrote: “I have seen first-hand how [caring] is not enough.” She wants the government to be bolder, have more fight, and make faster changes. Labour governments do not happen often, so she thinks they should use this time better.
What happens now?
Jess will still be an MP and says she will keep working hard for Labour to do well. But she cannot stay as a minister under the current way things are being run.
This resignation comes at a difficult time for Keir Starmer. Many Labour MPs are unhappy and some are asking him to step down too.
Simple summary
Jess Phillips left her important job because she believes the government is not acting fast enough to protect children and stop abuse. She wants quicker, stronger action. She still supports Labour but cannot stay in the government team right now.
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