Jess Phillips has become the second minister to resign as more than 80 MPs demand Sir Keir Starmer’s departure.
The Prime Minister has been facing mounting pressure to depart following his party’s devastating results in the May 7 local elections.
The MP for Birmingham Yardley Ms Phillips has stepped down as safeguarding minister just hours after the Prime Minister held a crunch cabinet meeting.
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Ms Phillips becomes the second minister to resign following the earlier resignation of Peckham MP Miatta Fahnbulleh on Tuesday morning.
In her resignation letter, she told Sir Keir that “deeds, not words matter” adding that while Sir Keir is a “good man fundamentally”, but that it is not enough.
Ms Phillips has been a vocal member in the Labour ranks and entered the party’s leadership race after Corbyn stepped down in 2020. She later dropped out, supporting Lisa Nandy instead.
She has served in her role as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls since July 2024 when Labour won the general election in a landslide victory.
Here’s her resignation in full:
