'Wrestling with your own morals is the hardest part of being an MP': Jess Phillips says she has no regrets about her stance on Gaza Photo: Heathcliff O'Malley
It's the day of the Gaza ceasefire vote and Westminster is buzzing with activity. “You know it's a big day when everywhere you look there are bunches of people plotting,” laughs Labour's Jess Phillips as we head to her office in Portcullis House. In person, the Birmingham MP for Yardley is larger than life in an orange jacket and as fun as her turns on Have I Got News for You or The Chase as you'd expect. “My husband is an elevator engineer and he always takes the stairs,” she jokes as we board the elevator.
Phillips' joy is remarkable given that she is one of the ten most threatened MPs in the House of Commons. She was a close friend of murdered MP Jo Cox and has been the subject of repeated rape and death threats since 2016. In a week when the safety of MPs has been in the spotlight due to Sir Lindsay Hoyle's handling of parliamentary elections in the Gaza Strip (he blamed his historic manipulation of parliamentary procedures as Speaker of the House on security concerns), I am interested in Phillips's perspective.< /p>
“I was so glad to be back in Birmingham!” she says when we meet the morning after our main interview and chaotic vote. “I couldn't leave the House of Commons fast enough, I don't care about all this procedural arguing about what motion… after you left the House of Commons everyone just went crazy!
“But the Speaker acted like this , because he is obsessed with the safety of deputies. He was responsible for this as Deputy Speaker when Jo Cox died, and I know he takes it very seriously.»
As someone who has been on the verge of making threatening remarks, is he right about the level of threat MPs face? Phillips lets out a chuckle. “Some other MPs are starting to realize the constant threat I live under. For me this week the threat was no worse than usual… It was bad during Brexit. But the worst thing for me (as an MP who advocates for women and girls who are victims of abuse) is abusive fathers, denied access to their children, who send me rape and death threats.”
She says that compared to 2016, “the police are much more active now. If I raise something they will respond within a few days. I have screens in my constituency office and security. I've learned to live with it. But I don't want to live in a shell, because if I do, they will win. I try to live a normal life. Lindsay Hoyle always calls me to talk to see if I'm okay — he's more obsessed with my safety than I am! The only male target who experiences this kind of violence is David Lammy because he is black.»
For an MP who is always seen as a firebrand of the left, Phillips has a lot of good things to say about his Conservative colleagues. In a teaser for her new podcast Electoral Dysfunction (a kind of girly take on The Rest is Politics with Baroness Ruth Davidson and Sky's Beth Rigby), she reveals how Priti Patel, the former home secretary, used to call her on Sunday evenings to check she was ok. She also praises MP Tobias Ellwood for «the good points he made in the debate on the military situation in Gaza.»
However, she is sad that procedural confusion has obscured the substance of the ceasefire debate. “The important thing is that parliament accepted the ceasefire proposal, saying that the Israelis should not enter Rafah, that the hostages should be released, that assistance should be provided. The executive must listen to the House of Commons.”
For Phillips, 42, it's personal. Last November she voted with the SNP for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, losing her place on the Labor Party front bench because of her efforts. Given that this view is now shared by everyone from Joe Biden, the US President, to Prince William and even Sir Keir himself, was she ahead of the curve?
“Israeli military action was inevitable. don't refuse. Nothing ever ends in war. It was inevitable that we would eventually call for a political solution.”
Was it a difficult call? “Yes, it was a huge leap. I loved the job [shadow minister for domestic violence, a position she held from 2020 to 2023]. This is exactly why I came into politics. I see some of my colleagues now wrestling with their conscience over Gaza — and it's a little annoying…»
I look up and she wipes away a tear. “No, wait, I've worked on the rape crisis, so I know that being provoked is a real thing, but the truth is, I have this feeling in my stomach about how hard it was for me last time… that's the hardest thing for an MP — struggle with your own morals.”
Phillips keeps mementos on a board in his office. Photo: Heathcliff O'Malley for The Telegraph
Behind her is a huge board with roses and thank you cards, many from abused women she has helped. Here's the lunch box from Ben Shepard's Tipping Point; a handwritten note from Edward Enninful, outgoing editor of Vogue. The office is a mix of seriousness and fun, just like Phillips herself. Was she surprised that Prince William also called for a humanitarian ceasefire? She nods. “I think, ‘Well done, Willie,’ it’s an unusual foray for a member of the royal family. This may have set a precedent for the Prince of Wales to speak. Charles did this in his time. But I'm not surprised that Prince William spoke out after speaking with the Red Cross. There's nothing like talking to aid workers to understand what's going on.»
We talk about the polarity of this debate, the lack of reliable sources — an Israeli government spokesman appeared on Newsnight last week and said that 10,000 of the 30,000 killed by Israelis in the Gaza Strip were Hamas soldiers. “There was a time when you could trust what the BBC said…,” says Phillips. She doesn't trust the BBC? “Yes… but truth is the first casualty of war; There is targeted misinformation these days. As an MP you need to make sure you are sharing and hearing the right information.” How does she do it? “Well, from the outside, Parliament may seem crazy, but in fact, it has several stellar institutions that find reliable information.” She says she receives regular briefings «from those with security clearances to give you an insight into this», as well as from MPs Alicia Kearns and Sarah Champion, the head of the international development committee, who spent this week at the security checkpoint. Rafah.
Was she angry with Sir Keir for sacking her over Gaza? “He had no choice. He could have been prime minister; he has to make different calculations from me. He has a difficult job.”
Jess Phillips has always been vocal about her desire to become Prime Minister, ever since she was in primary school (she insisted on it because she did well in her exams) and growing up in Birmingham. Her father was a teacher and her mother worked for the NHS and eventually became chair of the South Birmingham Mental Health Foundation. Her grandfather was friends with the left-handed firebrand Tony Benn (“one of my political heroes – but I don’t have many because I’m a normal person”). She is the mother of two sons, aged 15 and 20 (she had her first when she was just 22, and she wants to encourage more women to have children earlier).
Would she still like to be prime minister? “I would still try, of course!” — she says firmly. “I used to want to become interior minister. But I realized that I do not have that special skill of plotting and organizing your own development that you need. Women are less interested in this than men. My only policy goal is to halve the level of violence experienced by women and girls within a decade. Despite two women dying every week, there is still no strategy or target for femicide. We still live in patriarchy. It's 2024, but all of our institutions are based on a 1950s, 1850s, or even 1750s ideal that doesn't work for women.»
Before becoming an MP, she worked for Women's Aid and ran rape shelters. . I believe her when she says this is her life's purpose. Phillips is that rare bird in modern politics: a confident, intelligent working-class woman.
So where is she on transgender issues, how has this debate affected her work advocating for women? “It had no impact on the actual work. The political space has undoubtedly suffered, and not always negatively.” Can she still talk about women? «Of course! I'm completely comfortable talking about women — sometimes when I talk about women it means different things. I'm able to hold two ideas in my head at the same time… I believe in single-sex spaces for biological women, prisons, asylums, etc. — 100 percent. I have a T-shirt with it on it. But also, if someone asks me to call them a woman, I personally will do so. I will call you as you ask me. I'm happy to call trans women women. But also the idea that «That I have to repeat the slogan 'transwomen are women' makes no damn sense.» Classic Phillips. Have your cake and eat it too.
“When I worked in women's shelters, we always asked questions on referral forms about people's gender at birth, whether people had transitioned in general. The language we used will most likely send you to the gallows now. She smiles and begins a long explanation that “there are many reasons why referred women are not allowed into the shelter, not just transgender people. For example, if a woman had a 14-year-old son with her, she would not be allowed into the main women's shelter, but would be cared for in dispersed homes within the community under supervision so that she could remain with her son. . Or women who have child protection issues, or those with substance abuse issues.
This is the responsibility of Parliament and the legislature must provide clarity. She emphasizes that it is disabled women, older women and people with complex needs who «have the hardest time accessing the right safe space… We need to have women's biological space, but also when I was on Birmingham City Council I commissioned home economics.» shelters for LGBT+ people, especially men, who are beaten by their partners. Protecting women's biological sexual space and providing different spaces for transgender people should not be beyond the male mind.»
It's this quick turn of phrase, this ability to make complex issues understandable and even funny that I say is Phillips' skill. She agrees. “I have a gift for making politics accessible to people, especially now when I constantly hear people on their doorsteps saying, 'What's the point? Nothing can change!”
“Nothing can change too quickly because of the state of the economy. It’s about the details, the slow update.” Photo: Heathcliff O'Malley
A recent study by the Edelman Index found that trust in the UK's political system stood at less than 30 percent, the lowest of all 26 countries surveyed. How does she change that perception at the door? “I'm talking about the weekend. There are no holidays in China. The holidays were created by the trade union movement organizing shift patterns in Manchester canteens to ensure workers were given adequate time off. That's where all the laws come from, whether it's abortion rights or child benefits. Everything in our lives is decided here in Westminster, in this building, because someone bothered to ask us to do something about it. I hate the idea that things don't get better, they get better!
A poster hangs above her desk: “Well-mannered women rarely make history.” That might be her maxim: in the Westminster world of cautious career politicians, Phillips stands out. She's warm, shoots from the hip, and isn't afraid to tackle tough topics. Her new podcast is a welcome antidote to the often lousy world of Westminster. “It’s important that women who understand politics talk about all politics, not just women’s issues,” she agrees. “Half the globe is heading to elections this year, and there is a huge amount of nervous existential anxiety surrounding global politics. And here too: Rishi must call elections to sort out some of these problems — uncertainty «makes me bad» as my Nen would say.» Phillips is proud to be working class. “I didn’t want to be just an MP, I wanted to be the MP for Yardley where I would have to call half my constituents ‘Auntie’ because I’ve known them all my life.”
Phillips enjoys the thrill of politics, pitting his ideas against others. “Take Ruth [Davidson]. We don't always agree on a podcast. Take inheritance tax, she's toeing the Tory line, although I think we should keep it. Let's say I sell my house for a million pounds (which I won't), my two children will inherit it and they will have to pay the Exchequer £20,000 each. That's not bad considering they would just get £500k for doing nothing. In my constituency of Yardley, Birmingham, only 11 houses meet the inheritance tax threshold, but 5,000 children are losing out on child tax credits.»
Given Labour's poll lead and recent election poll results, Phillips appears , is calmly confident that her gang will soon take power. Should Telegraph readers be wary of a Labor government? «No. It's going to be a slow, slow burn monkey. Don't panic. Nothing can change too quickly because of the state of the economy. It's about the details, the slow update. I guess Telegraph readers like going to the dentist and don't want to sit waiting all night in A&E… watch this space.»
The Sky News podcast Selective Dysfunction will be available every Friday on all podcast platforms from 1 March.
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