UK Junior Minister Jess Phillips resigned from the UK government on Tuesday, becoming one of the most high-profile departures from Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s administration amid growing political unrest within the Labour Party.
Phillips, who served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls, announced her resignation while criticism and internal dissent against Starmer’s leadership continued to intensify following Labour’s poor local election performance.
According to reports, Phillips said in her resignation letter that she was “not seeing the change” she and the country expected under the current leadership. She also reportedly expressed frustration over what she described as delays in delivering meaningful reforms and progress.
Her resignation came only hours after Starmer told a Cabinet meeting that he would not step down despite mounting pressure from sections of the Labour Party. Reports indicate that more than 80 Labour MPs have either publicly or privately called for a leadership transition after the party’s disappointing electoral results and declining public support.
Phillips became the second junior minister to resign from the government within a short span, adding to the widening sense of instability around Starmer’s leadership. Earlier, junior minister Miatta Fahnbulleh also stepped down and urged the Prime Minister to outline a transition plan for Labour leadership.
A prominent Labour MP from Birmingham Yardley, Phillips has long been recognised as an outspoken voice on women’s safety, domestic violence and safeguarding issues. She had earlier resigned from Labour’s shadow frontbench in 2023 over disagreements related to the Gaza ceasefire vote before later joining Starmer’s government after Labour came to power.
The latest resignation is expected to deepen speculation over the future of Starmer’s leadership as internal divisions widen inside the ruling Labour Party. Senior figures including Health Secretary Wes Streeting and Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham are increasingly being discussed in UK political circles as possible future leadership contenders.