Jess Phillips says social media ban could have stopped her resignation as assisted dying bill returns

Jess Phillips has said she would not have resigned from the government if Sir Keir Starmer had announced a ban on under-16s social media use earlier. Her admission comes amid mounting criticism of the prime minister, with one analysis accusing him of having “U-turned on everything sensible and center-left he ever promised”. The charge is most sharply focused on the Assisted Dying Bill, a Private Members’ Bill that was never Labour policy but was given “the airiest of rides by a committee packed with supporters” according to commenters. It ran out of time in the House of Lords after 1,200 amendments were brought against it by charities, experts, nurses, GPs, psychiatrists and abuse campaigners who raised concerns about lack of safeguards. Despite that, Labour MP Lauren Edwards will re-introduce the same bill after coming second in the Private Members’ Bill ballot. Under existing parliamentary procedure, if the Bill passes again in the Commons, it cannot be blocked in the Lords. This will be the third attempt in five years to legalize assisted suicide, following Baroness Meacher’s 2021 bill and Kim Leadbeater’s 2025 effort. Phillips, who resigned over the government’s approach to social media and child safety, suggested the prime minister could have prevented her departure with a simple policy announcement. Her statement adds to the sense of a government facing rebellion from both its own ranks and external critics. The question now is whether the aided dying bill will face the same fate as its predecessor, or whether a second Commons passage will force it into law despite the Lords’ concerns.