Home Office minister Jess Phillips has shared the story of how she was appointed to her new role – and why it means she can no longer appear on the Electoral Dysfunction podcast.
Speaking to Sky News’ political editor Beth Rigby and Conservative peer Ruth Davidson, it was revealed this episode would be the Labour MP’s last.
Beth described the moment as “bittersweet” – saying that while Jess was leaving the podcast she now has a job in government.
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Ruth said she was “totally stoked” for Jess, but “slightly sad for us”.
Jess said: “Yeah, I feel I’m happy for me and sad, for us.
“And I think you should save your applause until I’ve actually delivered something – although I think that every day you’ll be able to see my fingerprints on things.”
The Birmingham Yardley MP – who was returned to parliament with a much smaller majority – said her role will be “in charge of safeguarding, and violence against women and girls (VAWG)”.
She added: “So that is human trafficking, sexual exploitation, domestic violence, sexual violence. And it’s because the Labour Party set a mission, a really, frankly ambitious mission… to halve the incidences of violence against women and girls within a decade.”
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Jess Phillips heckled during speech
Jess explained how Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer was passionate about changing the law in this area going back around a decade.
“I knew Keir Starmer through work before we were both elected in 2015.
“I was working in Rape Crisis and he was the director of public prosecutions, and he was changing quite a lot of the policy on how they handle rape cases.
“So it is a world that he knows, cares [about], and fundamentally wants it to change.”
Jess went on to explain how she was offered her new job by Sue Gray, Sir Keir’s chief of staff.
She and Ms Gray’s office had been trying to organise a time to speak following the election win, Jess recounts, and that she had just sent a message to one of Ms Gray’s staff.
“So I was stood in the street, in central London, having just been for lunch.
“It was absolutely chucking it down, and I was waiting for an Uber.
“I was looking at my phone, the way you do, like constantly, obsessively, waiting for the car to move, especially if you’re in central London, because it will take an hour for it to go 30 yards.
“So I was looking at my phone and Sue Gray called me.”
Jess Phillips (centre) is now a minister. Pic: PA
Jess thought the conversation was going to be about sorting an appointment for a meeting.
“So I answer the phone. I was like ‘Oh, hi, how are you?’,” she told the podcast.
“And we had a little bit of conversation, about the election and stuff, and then she said ‘Anyway, Jess, I just want to say, do you want to come back into government?’.”
Jess left her role on the Labour front bench last year over her party’s stance on Gaza.
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She went on: “I feel like I didn’t give the reaction that I should have, which was sort of delight and, pleasure because a) I wasn’t – I just really wasn’t expecting it.
“And b) I was really anxious that I’d missed my Uber, and I was getting wetter and wetter.
“I was basically Rishi on the day of the election being called. I was like, sopping wet.”
Jess says she hesitated from the shock, before accepting the role.