Jess Phillips on campaign trail: ‘I’m trying to remind people we have power to change things’ | Jess Phillips
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JMs. Phillips eats a sandwich while applying makeup in her busy constituency office, a short break between a visit to a local business and an afternoon spent knocking on doors. Her seat in Birmingham Yardley, in the south-east of the city, should be safe – she won in 2019 with a majority of 10,659. But like a handful of seats in the traditionally Labor city, it is now at risk.
“The truth is, it’s a mixed picture,” she says. “There is an element of some voters who harden against Labor no matter what.” The problem for many is Gaza war and Labour’s position on the issue. The party has delayed calling for an immediate ceasefire and in October Keir Starmer controversially said Israel had the right to withhold food and water from the Palestinian territory, something that regularly comes up on the doorstep.
Phillips took an early position, resigned from his position on the first bench in November to vote for a ceasefire. Perhaps because of this, Gaza is not as divisive in Yardley as it is in the neighboring constituency of Leadwood, where independent pro-Palestinian candidate Ahmed Yacoub is performing well. But it’s a big problem in Birmingham, where a third of the population is Muslim. “You have to have a lot of conversations, and it’s hard,” Phillips says.
Alongside her usual campaign materials, she has printed a second leaflet entitled ‘Action for Gaza…not just words’. It outlines Phillips’ repeated calls for a ceasefire, the money she has raised for charity and her work helping to evacuate people. “One of the most palpable feelings people have about Gaza is helplessness: What can I do? So I wanted to take action where I could,” she says. “Most people can be convinced by the efforts I have made, but I will not promise things out loud that cannot be fulfilled.”
As Phillips knocks on doors, it’s clear that her message has reached at least some people. Andy Simpson, a 58-year-old NHS contracts manager, has a Cease Fire Now poster on his front window. “Starmer’s position has been appalling from the start,” he says. “But within his limitations, Jess did the best he could.” Simpson is a long-time member of the Labor Party, but says that if he lived in another constituency, with a candidate who was less pro-Palestinian, he would can vote for another party.
For others, the Palestinian issue feeds a broader sense of cynicism. “Politicians are just using Gaza to curry favor with the people and they’re not going to change anything,” said Mohammed Toker, 29, who owns a grocery store in Acox Green. “If they really cared about humanity, they would have stopped arms deals with Israel years ago, but they won’t because it is an ally. There is no justice.”
Toqeer has voted Labor in the past but is currently undecided and may vote for the Labor candidate, Jody McIntyre, who stands on a pro-Palestinian platform. But the decision on Toqeer does not depend on Gaza alone. “We tried Conservatives, Labour, Lib Dems and nothing made a difference,” he says. Pinned to the wall behind Toqeer’s store’s cash register are dozens of credit slips for people who can’t afford groceries. “Food prices are rising and people are struggling,” he says. “It’s shocking. People are dying to come to this country to make some money without realizing the local people rely on food banks to survive.”
While Phillips recognizes the role Gaza plays in her constituency, she believes there is an even bigger battle: apathy. “People have forgotten that things can get better, so there’s a level of despondency about the idea that politics can help you. People just don’t believe anymore,” she says. “This is a place that has suffered such restrictions that there is nothing to close. People want to talk about the state of affairs – potholes in the road, fallen curbs. I feel hopeless.”
This is clear even at the threshold. Chris O’Donovan, a 51-year-old postal worker, tells Phillips she can be sure of his vote because she has “done good to the community”. But he is unhappy with the high cost of living, the NHS and social care and has lost faith in politics’ ability to make a difference: “I’m disappointed. Politicians talk about the big problems but don’t really care about solving them. After Brexit and the lies that were told, it’s hard to believe any of them.
Elsewhere, 50-year-old laundry owner Dolraj Pandwi – who voted Labor in 2019 – is still undecided on whether to vote. “Palestine should be a priority because innocent people are suffering – but I’m not going to vote on that,” he says. “I am a small business owner and we are suffering because the costs are so high. There is a very bad situation in the NHS. We don’t even get to see the doctor face to face.
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Most people express dissatisfaction with the state of the country and with the main parties. But some have a very different analysis of why Britain is struggling. Reform came second in Phillips’ constituency with 16% of the vote, well ahead of the Conservatives with 8%. “The Tories are too soft on immigration,” says John Fraser-Morris, a 55-year-old telecoms worker. “You go to the hospital, you have to wait days to be seen because it’s full of non-UK people who don’t pay into the system and don’t work, bleeding national services.”
Fraser-Morris and his wife Samantha, a 46-year-old foster parent, plan to vote for reform after voting for the Brexit Party in 2019 and the Conservatives before that. “I don’t believe anything Starmer says. I’d rather shoot myself in the head than vote for him,” says Samantha. “And Rishi Sunak is sleeping. If anything, immigration has gotten worse. Now it’s like if you’re not on that side of the argument, then you’re racist. What happened to having an opinion?’
Ian Marsh, 48, who is currently unemployed, has always voted Conservative – except in 2019 when he didn’t vote because he was so disillusioned with politics. This time he still decides. “The country is overpopulated and we need a proper leader to step on the ground. But the reform is relatively new, so they probably don’t have much of a chance to get in. I’ll probably go Labor because the Tories are over.’
One challenge for Phillips is that she has been MP for Yardley for nine years and people feel they have given her their vote without seeing positive change. She tries to explain that being an opposition MP is very different from being in the ruling party.
“Every good thing we have, every freedom, is fought for by ordinary people,” she says. “I try to remind people that we have the power to change things.”
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