Displaying items by tag: Jess Phillips

For nine years in succession, Labour MP Jess Phillips has read a list of women killed by men in the past twelve months, criticising the lack of attention given to women's safety in Parliament. She expressed weariness with the lack of systemic change, and said the issue seems to matter much less than small boats. The emotional reading of 98 names lasted over five minutes. Phillips credited organisations like Femicide Census for documenting these tragedies and highlighted failures such as the nonexistence of women's safety units within police forces. Her remarks came days after a UN rapporteur urged the Government to do more, stating that the UK’s strategies for tackling violence against women were inadequate. Grim statistics underline the urgency of the issue: a woman is killed by a man in the UK every three days, and one in four women experiences domestic violence. Meanwhile, a damning report issued today has shown how the killer of Sarah Everard should never have been allowed to become a police officer: see

In a significant upheaval within the Labour Party, high-profile MP Jess Phillips and nine other frontbenchers either resigned or were sacked following party leader Keir Starmer's refusal to support a ceasefire in Gaza. This was in response to a parliamentary vote on an SNP amendment to the King’s Speech, which proposed an immediate ceasefire in Gaza but was rejected by a majority of 168 votes. A total of 56 Labour MPs voted in favour of the amendment, marking the largest rebellion against Starmer's leadership so far. Shadow defence secretary John Healey commented on the situation within the Labour Party, expressing regret over the loss of frontbenchers and reaffirming their support for Starmer's prime ministerial bid. He emphasised the importance of collective responsibility and discipline in parliamentary decisions, defending Starmer's stance on the Gaza conflict.