The government’s efforts to tackle violence against women and girls (VAWG) could be affected by the resignations of two of its most vocal advocates in protest at Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership of the Labour party.
Junior justice minister Alex Davies-Jones (pictured) and safeguarding minister Jess Phillips have both resigned, as calls for the prime minister to set out a timeline for his departure intensify. The calls come in the wake of local elections which saw sizeable swings against Labour across councils across England and Wales.
In her resignation letter, Davies-Jones said it had been an “honour” to serve in government as the minister for victims and tackling violence against women and girls.
“I have been proud to deliver some monumental changes which will help save lives and shift the dial on the conversation,” she wrote.
“However, we have needed to do more and therefore it is with a very, heavy heart that I feel I have no choice but to resign. The scale of the electoral defeats at the Senedd Cymru and across the United Kingdom have been catastrophic. The country has spoken and we must listen.”
Signing off, the Pontypridd MP said she implored the prime minister to “act in country’s interest” and set out a timetable for his departure.
Jess Philips, the MP for Birmingham Yardley, said she felt unable to continue to serve as a minister under Starmer’s leadership. Her resignation letter accused the prime minister of “dilly dallying” and being “worried about tech bosses” in her efforts to legislate against the ability of children to take inappropriate images of themselves.
“Over a year ago I presented solutions, long worked on by brilliant civil servants that would end the ability for children in the UK to take naked images of themselves. 91% of online child sex abuse is self-generated by children groomed, tricked and exploited in to abuse. The technology exists to stop children being able to take naked images of themselves. We could make this possible on every phone and device in the country. We could stop this abuse.”
Philips said it had taken a year to get to the point of “threatening” legislation and had hoped an announcement in March would be forthcoming. She added: “I’m still on a promise this will happen in June, I’ve given up believing it.”
She concluded her resignation letter by saying: “I want a Labour government to work and I will strive as I always have for its success and popularity, but I’m not seeing the change I think I, and the country expect.”
Read the resignation letters in full.
Image credit: Alexandra Davies-Jones ©House of Commons
