Iain Dale’s All Talk allowed Jess Phillips, MP for Birmingham Yardley and former Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls, to explore her time in government in a witty, deeply passionate and somewhat cynical way.
Phillips established her sharp sense of humour and unfiltered personality early in the show by taking a few jibes at Dale’s earlier guest and leader of the Green Party, Zack Polanski, due to Polanski’s previous position as a hypnotherapist who claimed he could enlarge breasts. Phillips confided with the audience that she had undergone breast reduction surgery and for this reason is scared to spend any time with Polanski.
Despite receiving a mixed response from the audience over her frank remarks, Phillips was undeterred. Similar remarks and crude responses were a theme of the show which made for an enjoyable audience experience, a pleasant surprise compared to what one may expect from a Westminster politician.
Phillips was jaded when discussing her time in government, stating that she would argue: “I’m not fucking saying that” when told to repeat government lines, receiving praise from the audience for her candour. It was clear that Phillips was frustrated and let down by the Westminster Machine and the roadblocks she faced when attempting to fight violence against women and girls. She candidly shared that she faced significant pushback from the treasury and tech companies for potentially damaging the growth agenda when attempting to legislate in order to protect children from predators. Yet, Phillips forthrightly argued “we could have lots of growth if we brought back slavery […] lots of growth if you bring back harm.”
Although Phillips frequently reminded the audience that she hated being in government and she felt that she made a greater impact on the outside she did acknowledge how her own ‘fieryness’ helped in fighting violence against women and girls. Phillips proudly stated that throughout her time in government she threatened to resign many times; however, this threat put hundreds of millions of pounds into fighting violence against women and girls.
Iain Dale provided Jess Phillips with a platform to express her passion for fighting violence against women and girls, reminisce on her time in government and vent about the faults of the Westminster Machine. Dale’s relaxed interviewing style allowed for Phillips to tell all, making for a very informative, enjoyable and inspiring show.
Iain Dale: All Talk is running until 22 August at the EICC. Buy tickets here.
Image provided by Seabright Live for press use.
