The inspirational and forthright Labour MP for Birmingham Yardley gave her entertaining take on how her Party can galvanise disengaged voters in the run-up to the General Election.

Speaking at an oversubscribed DRD Partnership breakfast, the MP, who quit the Party’s frontbench over its stance on the Middle East conflict, emphasised that voters paid little attention to policy detail, except where it directly affected their households and the economy. But at the same time, she felt that geopolitics abroad is as important to her constituents as the issues that face their high streets.

Renewing interest in political life would require a vision of what the world could look like in the future, especially for younger voters. Highlighting the malaise of young voters, she sympathised with the plight of young people under the current government, playfully but bleakly pointing out that, if current conditions continue, many young people are left envisioning parental death as the path to economic mobility.

Phillips reminded attendees that young people who are sceptical about the political system and how it affects them, need to look no further than their school lunch, a life-changing policy provision harking back to the 1944 Education Act – illustrating the power of what an informed and aspirational government can do. She urged against the electorate, particularly those that are from marginalised communities, from falling into political disengagement as this can lead people who ‘don’t know guff’ about your life to decide for you.

Phillips discussed the intense media scrutiny MPs and candidates can face and its gendered implications. She highlighted that, whilst in every constituency there is never a shortage of willing candidates, the effect of media savaging is most strongly felt by women. The result being that women are less likely to run in marginal seats and are less likely to stay in their position, cutting their political tenures prematurely short.

Phillips reminded the room of the key pledge to halve violence against women over ten years, that has made its way into Labour’s prospective list of manifesto commitments, a result of her years of campaigning pressure and reflective of her previously held position as Shadow Minister for Domestic Violence and Safeguarding.

She pointed to the statistic that 19% of police calls are attributable to violence against women and yet investment and services in this sector are a far cry from reflecting that number. Phillips implored that her party does not face the issue that the money ‘has gone’ as the letter in the drawer famously uttered, but rather that there are billions being poorly spent by the current government – making public services and the marignalised communities it serves suffer for it. This underscored for Phillips that Labour’s priorities will continue to match public service priorities, as well as a commitment to investing in the civil service to breed the innovation the party knows is possible in that space.

Overall, Phillips provided a much-needed dose of realism, arguing the country is not ready to be hopeful unless robust plans are implemented to inspire it – that the focus should be ‘fixing the roof’ not ‘building the extension’.