Safeguarding Minister Resigns

Natalie Fleet, the Labour MP for Bolsover and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls, has resigned from her ministerial post just over two months after taking office.

In a personal statement posted on X (formerly Twitter) earlier today, Fleet described the decision as “the bravest thing I’ve ever done.” She said she quickly found the contents of the role “overwhelmingly triggering” and informed the Prime Minister’s team that she “sadly couldn’t stay.”

“Honour of lifetime to be Minister for Safeguarding,” she wrote. “Victims deserve someone at their best. I wish my successor well & will do all I can to support them.” @nataliefleetmp

Who is Natalie Fleet?

Natalie Fleet, 42, was elected as the first female MP for Bolsover in the July 2024 general election. A long-standing Labour member, she had previously stood unsuccessfully as the party’s candidate in Ashfield in 2019, where she faced threats and vandalism of her campaign office.

On 12 May 2026, she was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls in the Home Office, succeeding Jess Phillips following the latter’s resignation during the 2026 Labour leadership crisis.

Her responsibilities included safeguarding, rape and serious sexual offences, violent crime, and domestic abuse — areas that directly intersect with her own lived experience.

A public survivor and advocate

Fleet has spoken openly about her past. In interviews after her election, she revealed that she was groomed at the age of 15 by an older man and became pregnant with her first daughter as a result of statutory rape. She has described wanting to be “a voice for other women who are victims of grooming and sexual violence” and has worked on measures such as removing parental rights from rapists.

She is married to Ritchie Fleet (since 2007) and they have four children and one grandchild. Her working-class background — raised in Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, with experiences of free school meals and homelessness — has shaped her focus on social justice issues.

Why the resignation now?

The Safeguarding Minister role involves regular exposure to highly distressing material and policy work on sexual violence and abuse. For someone with Fleet’s personal history, the emotional demands proved unsustainable.

Her statement frames the resignation as an act of responsibility rather than weakness: by stepping aside, she ensures victims receive support from someone operating at full capacity. Supporters on social media have praised her honesty and self-awareness, calling it “commendable.”

Others have questioned why her trauma history was not more thoroughly considered before her appointment, or argued that personal experience could have made her particularly effective — though the triggering nature of the work ultimately led to her departure.

What happens next?

Fleet will return to the backbenches but has pledged to continue supporting the government’s work on these issues. The government will now need to appoint a successor promptly to maintain momentum on safeguarding and violence against women and girls policy.

Her short tenure highlights the intense personal pressures faced by ministers in trauma-sensitive portfolios and raises broader questions about support structures for politicians with lived experience of the issues they oversee.

Fleet’s decision to speak openly about both her trauma and her reasons for resigning adds to the public conversation around mental health, victim advocacy, and the realities of frontline political work.