Bridget Phillipson

Bridget Phillipson in 2024

Bridget Maeve Phillipson (born 19 December 1983) is a British politician who has served as Secretary of State for Education since July 2024. A member of the Labour Party, she was elected as the Member of Parliament for Houghton and Sunderland South in 2010. Previously, Phillipson was Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury (2020–2021) and as Shadow Secretary of State for Education from 2021.

Quotes

• The deputy head teacher, Mr Hurst, who was a very fierce character, sent a message to me in class and said he wanted to see me in his office immediately. He said he'd got the list of students who'd signed up for this trip to Oxford [University] and my name wasn't on it, and he expected my name to be on it by the end of the day. The year that I went to Oxford there were six of us that went to Oxford or Cambridge from my state school, which was the best they'd ever achieved.
  • From an interview, as cited in Rachel Sylvester and Alice Thomson "Is Bridget Phillipson Labour's rising star?", The Times (28 July 2023)

• Before I was an MP I managed a women's refuge, so I know more than most how important it is that women, especially those who have experienced male violence, sexual violence and trauma, are able to access safe therapeutic spaces, and alongside that, that we make sure that everyone in our society is treated with dignity and respect.
• I speak for the government on this matter, and I can be crystal clear with you that we welcome the ruling.
• I think it is important and welcome that the supreme court have put beyond doubt that providers can make sure that is done on the basis of biological sex [...] I do believe it is important that when women have experienced male violence they are able to heal, that they are able to access the therapeutic support that is required.
  What they have said consistently, and what campaigners have worked for over many decades, is to ensure that that provision does exist and can be single-sex. And the ruling has made that clear, and made it clear beyond any doubt.
  • From an interview on the Today programme (BBC Radio 4, 22 April 2025), as cited in "Keir Starmer welcomes 'clarity' of UK supreme court’s gender ruling", The Guardian (22 April 2025).
  • Referring to the For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers decision at the UK's Supreme Court on 16 April 2025.