Fly me to the moon? No thanks, says Jess Phillips. There’s nowhere on Earth – or beyond – to compare with brilliant Brum…  

First, a health warning. We really don’t do politics here at Brum Living Towers. Generally, it’s not our bag. We always like to write about the positives and, well, it seems to be a common complaint that politicians across the country are a bit out of touch with the very people that elected them. However, there’s always the exception to the rule – and that’s where Jess Phillips comes in!

The MP for Birmingham Yardley for the past decade and current Government minister at the Home Office, is one of those all-too-rare politicians who tend to speak their minds and actually say what the proverbial ‘man and woman in the street’ is thinking. What’s more, we can’t recall coming across a louder, prouder more upbeat voice for Brum in all our years covering the city. That vibe doubtless comes from the fact that Jess still lives less than 500 metres from the house where she was born and grew up. A true Brummie of the people, for the people then.

FORGET THE MOON

“The community I grew up in is basically still that same community,” she says. “It really hasn’t changed, and I haven’t either. We are one and the same and always will be. No matter what the future holds, for me it will always be here in Brum. This is where I am from, where I live, and will always be where I live! Yes, my job means I have to spend half my time in London right now, but I am a proud Brummie, through and through. I would never want to leave – even for the moon!”

We chatted with Jess after one of her regular constituency surgeries. The elephant in the room at the time was ‘The Bins’. With bags upon bags of rubbish piling up in the city streets due to the strike by the binmen, Birmingham was getting trashed by the national press in particular. Rats the size of cats, and so on…

Unsurprisingly it was a major talking point for those attending Jess’s surgery. And she admitted: “It’s a terrible issue that needs to be resolved, but I honestly don’t know that the council has any other choice. One thing I would say is that the coverage in the national press isn’t quite how it is in reality. Not every street in Brum is piled high with rubbish by any means. I fully recognise Birmingham is facing various terrible crises, but the average Brummie has a level of resilience that is phenomenal. It’s our super-power.”

POSITIVELY PROUD

You can tell from Jess’s tone that negativity irks her. She says: “It’s easy to not notice the positives.” She highlights how despite Birmingham’s financial problems and the wider issue of austerity, locally there has been progress with more people speaking up and portraying the good over the bad. And she cites the example of the number of TV programmes that talk about the city’s rich culture. All this positivity came to the fore when Brum spectacularly hosted the 2022 Commonwealth Games. “The Games were amazing,” said Jess. “Wouldn’t it be great if we could have the Games and that brilliant weather every year!”

Jess grew up in Kings Heath, the youngest of four children. Her father was chief executive of the NHS Confederation and chair of South Birmingham Mental Health while her mother worked for the RSPCA. She went to King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Girls before studying economic and social history at Leeds University. Jess gained a postgraduate diploma in public sector management at the University of Birmingham and worked for the Women’s Aid Federation, responsible for managing refuges for victims of domestic abuse in Sandwell. In 2012 she was elected as a Labour councillor for Longbridge and was appointed as Birmingham City Council’s victims’ champion and also served on West Midlands Police and Crime Panel. She was elected MP for Birmingham Yardley in 2015.

STAYING FOCUSSED

She is currently minister at the Home Office responsible for safeguarding and violence against women and girls. “It’s an interesting fact, but the average tenure for a Government minister is 18 months, so I don’t think too much about ambitions,” said Jess, who as a child dreamed on one day becoming Prime Minister. “My ambition now is to do as good a job as I can until the next election,” she said. “I want to make sure I do a good job protecting the abused and vulnerable with the opportunity I have been given as a Government minister.”

Being the outspoken individual she is, Jess has had several high-profile run-ins over the years, the most recent being with billionaire and Donald Trump righthand man, Elon Musk over the handling of the child sexual exploitation case in Oldham. Musk, being Musk, posted rude derogatory comments about Jess on X which led to an avalanche of dangerous online misinformation about her.

Jess is keenly aware of the potential damage the Internet and extremist views can cause particularly to young people. “That’s why we should take every opportunity to make it safer and to educate,” she says. “I’ve raised two boys – a 16-year-old and a 19-year-old – in this era, so I am very aware of the risks. It’s up to parents, educators and regulators to act.”

She says her best memories of growing up in Brum are the “sense that the people on your street are your people” and the sights and sounds of the Birmingham Superprix, a single-seater motor race held through the city streets in the late 80s. “I remember the noise, so much noise!”

CHOCS AND CUDDLES

Jess revealed that by far and away the most common issues she deals with from constituents at her surgery involve homelessness and inappropriate behaviour. And she says that like most Brummies they are grateful for the help she and her staff can give them. “I’ve had people in my surgery today giving me and my team chocolates, flowers and even a cuddle!”

Jess has become a familiar face on TV not just for her expertise on political shows, but also for her sharp wit on programmes such as Have I Got News For You – she’s even presented one episode. She also revealed: “I get approached all the time to do all kinds of documentaries, but I can’t do that being a Government minister. Not now, no way!”

Maybe in the future if and when Government takes a backseat? But before even considering such a thing, Jess says she has one over-riding ambition. “To sleep more,” she says. We believe her…