Burnham loses second safeguarding minister in quick succession

Natalie Fleet has resigned as safeguarding minister, telling the BBC the government role was "overwhelmingly triggering" and making her ill. The Labour MP informed the team of Prime Minister Andy Burnham that she "sadly couldn't stay" in the position she assumed on 12 May.

Her departure creates an immediate staffing problem for the new premier. It marks the second exit from this specific post in rapid succession. Fleet replaced Jess Phillips, who quit earlier, stating that opportunities for progress had been "stalled and delayed" under former Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.

For observers tracking the UK's political stability, this repeated turnover in a sensitive brief highlights persistent difficulties in managing complex social policy. The safeguarding portfolio requires confronting severe crises, a task that has now overwhelmed two consecutive appointees.

Fleet, who was groomed and raped as a teenager, explained the personal toll of the job. She noted the role means a minister "hears the worst of humanity". "Anybody would struggle hearing that but not everyone would react in the same way as someone who has gone through what I have," she said, though she acknowledged receiving support from the Home Office.

Announcing the move on X, she wrote: "Victims deserve someone at their best." Fleet was elected MP for Bolsover in July 2024, succeeding veteran Dennis Skinner. She has spoken openly about her past, telling GB News that she became pregnant at 15 after statutory rape and continues to suffer "weekly nightmares".

In her October 2024 maiden speech, she framed it as her "duty" to speak for women whose stories are not being told. The MP described stepping down as the "bravest thing I've ever done" and offered her backing to her successor. She noted she would welcome another government job but is prepared to return to the backbenches to continue campaigning alongside survivors.