A prominent minister has resigned from Sir Keir Starmer's Government, piling pressure on the embattled Labour leader to quit after he vowed to fight on. Safeguarding minister Jess Phillips became the second minister to stand down, criticising the Prime Minister's failure to be "bold".
Growing Calls for Leadership Change
At least 81 out of Labour's 403 MPs have now demanded Sir Keir's departure after the party's electoral mauling last week. In numerical terms, this is the threshold needed to trigger a leadership contest – but on the important condition that they all line up behind the same candidate, which is not the case at the moment.
Phillips' Resignation Statement
In her resignation statement, Birmingham Yardley MP Ms Phillips said any real action by Sir Keir to tackle violence against women and girls came "in light of catastrophic mistakes". In her letter shared to X by Sky News, she wrote: "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."
She said delays to proposals aimed at preventing children from taking explicit images of themselves online were an example of "incremental change. Nothing bold about it". Ms Phillips continued: "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'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."
Starmer's Response and Cabinet Dynamics
It came after Sir Keir told his Cabinet he would continue governing, and several senior ministers emerged from the meeting rallying around him. He avoided being directly challenged as he declined to discuss his leadership during Tuesday's gathering or meet critics individually afterwards, the Press Association understands. Sir Keir said he would only speak to ministers one-on-one about his fate in the wake of his party's electoral mauling, but did not do so once Cabinet concluded, according to sources.
Earlier Resignation
Ms Phillips' departure followed the resignation on Tuesday morning of Miatta Fahnbulleh, who told the Prime Minister "to do the right thing for the country and the party and set a timetable for an orderly transition" as the public had lost trust in him because of issues such as the scrapping of the winter fuel payment.
