We regret to inform you that Labour Party MP Jess Phillips has once again put her foot in her mouth. We further regret to say this latest instance of foot-in-mouthery might be the worst yet. Seemingly without realising she did any of this, Phillips suggested that she and her local NHS hospital are openly corrupt, with patients fast-tracked according to their political stances.
Sounds like an absolutely preposterous thing to say?
You wouldn’t be the only one to think so!
What the FUCK is Jess Phillips playing at? This is just red meat for the far-right. pic.twitter.com/adCscMoLdx
— Ollie (@0lliOlli) August 30, 2024
NH-Jess
The story was broken by the Daily Mail:
Speaking at an event unambiguously billed as An Evening With Jess Phillips, held at Kiln Theatre in North London, Phillips recounted an episode from her personal medical history which suggests that it may not just be policing which could be guided by a ‘two-tier’ approach but also, perhaps, treatment dispensed by the National Health Service.
Describing a distressing episode when she was having trouble breathing – ‘my lips had gone blue and I couldn’t breathe,’ she recalled – Phillips, 42, explained that she’d sought urgent treatment at A&E in a Birmingham hospital.
She was greeted by scenes of appalling overcrowding. ‘I have genuinely seen better facilities, health facilities, in war zones, in developing countries around the world,’ the minister continued. Nevertheless, eventually she got to the front of the queue.
But this, she said, was ‘undoubtedly’ for two reasons only. ‘I got through because of who I am. Also the doctor who saw me was Palestinian, as it turns out. Almost all the doctors in Birmingham seemed to be.’
While in opposition, Phillips resigned from Labour’s front bench to vote in favour of a ceasefire in Gaza five weeks after Hamas terrorists killed 1,200 Israelis – many of whom were mutilated or raped – and took another 120 hostage.
Her vote, she said, was the other reason that she received preferential treatment.
‘He was sort of like, “I like you. You voted for a ceasefire”. [Because of that] I got through quicker.’
While we’re no fans of the Mail, Jess Phillips did their job for them here, so you can’t really get mad at them for reporting on the story as they did (not withstanding reference to ‘Hamas rape story‘ which outlets like the New York Times promoted despite later-exposed zero evidence).
You can get mad at Phillips, though, and several people have.
“Jess Phillips is an idiot”
People didn’t simply get mad indiscriminately; they got mad with and clear and well-explained rationales. Many pointed out that Jess Phillips was almost certainly prioritised because of her symptoms rather than her opinions:
Jess Phillips is an idiot.
She arrived in an A&E department presenting with breathing difficulties and signs of hypoxia (blue lips), because of these symptoms she got triaged as high priority.
But her narcissism means she thinks she's responsible for standard medical practice.— Sebastián 🏳️⚧️🏳️🌈 (@SebButInSpanish) August 30, 2024
Jess Phillips went to the 'front of the queue' in A&E – it's called being triaged – for two reasons only:
1. Breathing difficulties
2. Blue lips (hypoxia)
AS WOULD ANYONE ELSE PRESENTING WITH THESE SYMPTOMS
*If she genuinely made those statements, she's a bona-fide liability. pic.twitter.com/YBX3EXxOzA— Donna McLean (@Donna__McLean) August 30, 2024
Several people highlighted that Phillips’s words may lead to genuine harm against the NHS, with the fantasy she created easily weaponisable by those who want to implement privatised healthcare in the UK:
The more I think about what Jess Phillips has said about a Palestinian doctor allegedly giving her preferential treatment because she supported a ceasefire in Gaza, the more I am incredulous. She has undermined the integrity of the NHS with her gargantuan ego and crass stupidity. pic.twitter.com/41ibzfb28x
— MikeD (@mjdaly57) September 1, 2024
This is why Jess Phillips bullshit is dangerous. Supposedly intelligent people now talking as if there is an actual doctor out there who did this.
And there's the target, painted on the back on every Muslim and Arab/perceived Muslim and Arab doctor. Fucksakes. https://t.co/2sFtqKIJo1
— Stand with Palestine (@aliwilkin) August 30, 2024
This is what privatised healthcare looks like by the way:
$859.37 just for an ambulance to turn up.
Who can seriously say they want Private Healthcare? pic.twitter.com/IDhPRfSI58
— BladeoftheSun (@BladeoftheS) August 31, 2024
The other thing to bear in mind about private healthcare is that it actually costs US taxpayers more per head than it costs countries with public healthcare. How, you ask? Corruption, of course, because that’s all private healthcare is, and that’s why we can’t give any ammunition to the people who want it here.
Some did at least have a laugh at Phillips’ expense:
https://t.co/omOBUS8vCJ pic.twitter.com/yRd8ZsJMl4
— Les the Croc (@lesthecroc) August 30, 2024
Jess Phillips told me if you tell Ticketmaster you support a ceasefire you get a ticket immediately https://t.co/3pv5T6f0s9
— The Gordon Jackson Five (@mypalfootfoot7) August 31, 2024
I’m so sorry. We did the best we could but your son… He didn’t make it. Jess Phillips arrived while we were doing the procedure, and with a voting record like that—well, I’m sure you appreciate that it would’ve been wrong to keep her waiting.
— Eyup Lovely (@eyuplovely) August 31, 2024
Others noted that this is far from the first time that Phillips has said something unfathomably idiotic:
I remember when Jess Phillips claimed to have personally knocked on 25,000 doors in 6 weeks.
That's 1 door every 2.5 minutes, every hour, for 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, for 6 weeks. Not stopping for anything. A superhuman feat. Almost unbelievable!pic.twitter.com/j6eKIbF1mt
— Saul Staniforth (@SaulStaniforth) August 30, 2024
Her ego again
Interestingly, it’s Jess Phillips herself who most clearly identified her central problem:
Jess Phillips: ‘I’ve got a massive ego! I was told I was clever from an early age, and that sticks’ https://t.co/AG5YdEFbUC
— The Guardian (@guardian) July 27, 2024
We recommend that Phillips spends some time thinking she’s not clever. She’ll be right more often than not, and it may encourage her to actually think before she speaks.
Featured image via PoliticsJOE (YouTube)
