Jess Phillips has resigned as safeguarding minister in the latest and most high-profile departure yet to rock Sir Keir Starmer’s embattled government, Sky News political editor Beth Rigby has exclusively revealed.
In a resignation letter to the Prime Minister, Phillips struck a tone that was both personal and politically damning — acknowledging Starmer’s character while making clear she had lost confidence in his ability to deliver. “I think you are a good man fundamentally, who cares about the right things,” she wrote. “However I have seen first-hand how that is not enough.”
She went on to criticise what she described as a culture of conflict avoidance at the top of government. “The desire not to have an argument means we rarely make an argument, leaving opportunities for progress stalled and delayed.” Invoking the rarity of Labour administrations, she added: “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.”
Her conclusion was pointed: “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.”
Phillips, one of the most recognisable and outspoken figures in the Labour Party, is significantly more prominent than Miatta Fahnbulleh, the communities minister who became the first government minister to resign earlier on Tuesday. Her departure marks a serious escalation of the crisis engulfing Starmer’s leadership and will be considerably harder for Number 10 to absorb or dismiss.
The resignations come as more than 70 Labour MPs have publicly called for the Prime Minister to set a timetable for his departure, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood is among cabinet ministers reported to have privately urged him to go, and the party faces a reckoning over last week’s catastrophic local election results — which saw Reform UK seize control of multiple councils and Labour suffer significant losses across England, Scotland and Wales.
Starmer has so far refused to resign, insisting he will not walk away and plunge the country into chaos. With two ministerial resignations now on the same day and no sign of the pressure abating, that position is looking increasingly difficult to sustain.
