Jess Phillips

Party affiliation

Parliament's party history for this member: Labour (7 May 2015 – present).

Register of interests

Register on Parliament's site

Latest on this tracker 535

1. 2 Nov 2026·Parliament·Jess Phillips

   Immigration: Earned Settlement

   Victims of domestic abuse who have come over as dependants can currently apply for settlement immediately. Will that change under the new rules?

   Hansard source
2. 13 Oct 2026·Parliament·Jess Phillips

   Prisoner Early Release Scheme

   Historically, whether people were released at the right time or were released early under the various different schemes of various different Governments, it has always been rubbish for victims of domestic abuse. They are often not informed, and the proper safeguards are not put in place. I hear the Minister saying that there is now better communication and that there are helplines, but we have to do better than what the Conservative party did. There needs to be a proper, systematic approach for victims of domestic abuse, to make sure that every single possible safeguarding opportunity has been taken in every single case. I am afraid to say that I feel as if the Department does not know what is going on in the world, because I meet women every week who have not been informed and have not been provided with any safeguards. Can the Minister assure me that that vital work is going on?

   Hansard source
3. 13 Oct 2026·Parliament·Jess Phillips

   Courts and Tribunals Bill

   As somebody who has had someone elect to have a jury and now awaits a trial in 2029 on a simple order breach, I ask the hon. Gentleman: does he think, in his defence of jury trials, that a victim should be able to say whether they want the case to be tried by a jury, or should it just be the defendant? That is the system we have today. In the light of his desire to see jury trials, does he think that the system should be changed so that anyone can say, “No, I want it to be heard in front of a jury”?

   Hansard source
4. 13 Oct 2026·Parliament·Jess Phillips

   Courts and Tribunals Bill

   Just because a domestic abuser has no prior convictions, it does not mean he does not have priors. It does not mean he has good character.

   Hansard source
5. 13 Oct 2026·Parliament·Jess Phillips

   Courts and Tribunals Bill

   A longer sentence is the benefit.

   Hansard source
6. 13 Oct 2026·Parliament·Jess Phillips

   Courts and Tribunals Bill

   None of them agree with you about the presumption of contact.

   Hansard source
7. 13 Oct 2026·Parliament·Jess Phillips

   Courts and Tribunals Bill

   There’s loads around here!

   Hansard source
8. 13 Oct 2026·Parliament·Jess Phillips

   Courts and Tribunals Bill

   <em>rose—</em>

   Hansard source
9. 13 Oct 2026·Parliament·Jess Phillips

   Courts and Tribunals Bill

   What the right hon. and learned Member is saying about the system being designed for the innocent is compelling, but the system is absolutely not designed for the person who is absolutely innocent in the system, and that is the victim. No part of the system asks them to elect where the trial might go. No part of the system asks them if they think it should be appealed. The real innocent—the definitely innocent—gets no say.

   Hansard source
10. 13 Oct 2026·Parliament·Jess Phillips

    Courts and Tribunals Bill

    There are so many things in the Bill that I could talk about, but I shall start where my friend, the right hon. Member for the royal town of Sutton Coldfield (Sir Andrew Mitchell), left off; I am from the royal town of Birmingham Yardley. I want to get Members to understand what we are seeking to change and clarify in law. When we are in this Chamber, we do not get sued for the things we say. I can be held accountable for anything I say—I would not say it on X, because I would not go on it—until I walk into this building. Civil action could be taken against me for work that I did leading up to that point. Let me set out what the judgment that the right hon. Gentleman talked about means. In cases in which the police or the Crown Prosecution Service make mistakes, they should of course have immunity covering all the time that leads up to them entering court, as any witness does; but that that immunity cannot cover them against civil action relating to anything that happened in the case. If I had a pound for every time I have seen terrible mistakes made by police officers or the CPS, I could get rid of your backlog—not your backlog, Madam Deputy Speaker, but the nation’s. I want to be clear about how dangerous the overreach is that results from the Court’s decision to allow that immunity, and will refer to some cases that caused Front Benchers to change the law. These were legal cases taken by victims of rape, domestic abuse and other forms of sexual violence that have changed the law of our land. They were based on civil actions taken by those victims against the police and the CPS, including by Jade Blue, the survivor of rape who waived her anonymity and brought a claim against the CPS after it made an erroneous decision to discontinue the proceedings against her abuser. As a consequence of Jade’s civil action and campaign, and her successful claim against the CPS, the Government rolled out the early victims’ right to review scheme. That was done on the basis of <span id="275" class="column-number" data-column-number="275"></span>civil action taken by a rape victim, but this could be threatened by this new overreach in the law, and I hope that the Minister will tell us how she intends to sort this out. If we do not allow victims of domestic abuse and sexual violence—or any victim, or anyone who is treated poorly by the police and the CPS—to take civil action, we in this place are missing an opportunity to make better laws. Frankly, if I can be held accountable, coppers and the CPS should be held accountable, too. I understand that we are awaiting a Supreme Court judgment, but I would be interested to hear what the Front Benchers can say to allay the fears of victims of domestic abuse and sexual violence all over the country. They fear that if, say, their address was wrongly given out, they would have no recourse to civil action, despite the danger they would be put in. My hon. Friend the Member for Penistone and Stocksbridge (Dr Tidball) gave a powerful speech. I worked with Claire Throssell for years. The shadow Minister said that victims groups do not all think the same about the jury part of the Bill; I can tell him that they all think the same thing about the presumption of contact. The fact that the shadow Minister did not even mention that he has tabled an amendment that would genuinely endanger victims of domestic abuse across the country is—I do not know what I am allowed to say—a bit cowardly. He should have stood by his words and argued the case. As a victim who has been dragged back to court on a completely unmeritorious appeal case by people who stalk me, so that they can get me in another room, I am pleased about the changes in the Bill. In these debates, I often think that this place thinks that the very worst thing that could happen to a person is being accused of rape. I think the worst thing that can happen is to be raped and have no one believe you.

    Hansard source

2024 General Election: Birmingham Yardley

Election result on Parliament's site

Parliamentary career

Career on Parliament's site

Published contact details

Only the details Parliament publishes for this member. Contact page on Parliament's site