Natalie Fleet has resigned as minister for safeguarding, saying the role was "overwhelmingly triggering" and was making her ill. Appointed on 12 May after Jess Phillips's resignation, Fleet told the BBC she had informed Andy Burnham's team she "couldn't stay" and called stepping down the "bravest thing" she'd done. Elected MP for Bolsover in July 2024, she has publicly recounted being groomed and raped as a teenager and plans to support her successor while continuing to campaign for survivors if she returns to the backbenches.
Natalie Fleet Steps Down As Safeguarding Minister, Calling Role "Overwhelmingly Triggering"
[GB News/PA]
Natalie Fleet has resigned as the government's minister for safeguarding, saying the role was "overwhelmingly triggering" and was making her unwell.
Fleet, the Labour MP for Bolsover, told the BBC she informed incoming Prime Minister Andy Burnham's team that she "sadly couldn't stay" in the post and described stepping down as "the bravest thing I've ever done." She said she will support whoever succeeds her in the role.
Why She Resigned
Appointed to the safeguarding brief on 12 May following Jess Phillips's resignation, Fleet said the job required her to "hear the worst of humanity," which intensified the effect of her own past trauma. She explained the work quickly demonstrated how ill it was making her despite receiving support from the Home Office while in post.
"Victims deserve someone at their best," Fleet wrote on X. "Honour of lifetime to be minister for safeguarding. Quickly found contents overwhelmingly triggering."
Background And Context
Fleet was elected MP for Bolsover in July 2024, succeeding long-serving Labour figure Dennis Skinner. She has spoken publicly about being groomed and raped as a teenager; in a 2024 broadcast interview she said she became pregnant at 15 and described continuing "weekly nightmares" about the abuse. "I was a child and (it) is statutory rape," she told the broadcaster.
In her maiden Commons speech in October 2024, Fleet said it was her "duty" to lift up the voices of women in her Derbyshire constituency "whose stories are not being told." She said the safeguarding brief is one of the most important jobs in government but acknowledged that, for her, the role was damaging to her wellbeing.
Next Steps
Andy Burnham has not yet finalised all ministerial appointments. Fleet said she would welcome the opportunity to serve in another capacity when appropriate, but if she is not appointed to a ministerial post she intends to return to Labour's backbenches to continue campaigning on behalf of survivors.
"I will do anything I can to support the government," she said, while adding she must prioritise her health and cannot lead the government's safeguarding brief at this time.
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