‘Sex MP’ has no regrets as she warns about need for lifelong sex education
A Labor MP joked about being branded a “sex MP” but warned lifelong education was needed to tackle abuse and problems surrounding sex and relationships.
South Derbyshire MP Samantha Niblett hit the headlines when she called for a “summer of sex” by suggesting MPs bring sex toys to the Palace of Westminster.
But Ms Niblett, who recently became chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Sexual and Reproductive Health, has won the support of actress Dame Emma Thompson and experts for launching a campaign to improve sex education.
He told the BBC: “I think if some of my colleagues, who must be some of the most progressive MPs there are, find this entertaining, then I look forward to seeing the good that will come off the back of the campaign.”
He said he did not regret the attention his views brought him.
“It was great,” he said. “People are starting to recognize me now… ‘Oh, you’re that sex MP, aren’t you?’
“I think as we gain support across the country, you’ll probably find that more of my colleagues will feel comfortable putting their heads above the parapet and talking about this issue.
“When someone else grabs the microphone and tries to belittle what you’re doing, it’s really important to take it back.”
Defending her views on sex toys she said that there needs to be a move “away from shame and stigma” in discussing these issues.
Ms Niblett claimed: “An important part of sex between people is communication and pleasure. And one of the ways to get pleasure is by using sex toys.”
“The reason the campaign is strictly talking about sex toys is to try to remove the stigma or shame in even talking about them.”
He added that people are expected to talk in court about “the terrible things that happen to them when we don’t talk openly about good sex.”
He said: “If we can’t talk about good sex, how can we talk about bad sex?”
Ms Niblett highlighted how a lack of openness, rather than healthy open discussion, fuels sexual abuse and crime.
The Crime Survey for England and Wales found that for the year ending March 2025, around 15.9 per cent of people aged 16 and over (7.7 million people) had experienced sexual assault since the age of 16.
According to figures published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), this number includes 1.9 million rape victims, of which 1.8 million are women.
Campaigners are calling for improved sex education in England.
In 2017 the Local Government Association (LGA) warned that a lack of sex and relationships education in some of the country’s secondary schools was creating a “ticking time bomb on sexual health”.
But he urged people to look beyond party politics after his campaign came under party political attacks from Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch.
In a recent series of exchanges in the House of Commons, Ms Badenoch said: “What are these? [Labour] to do? They are promoting sex toys in Parliament. It gives a whole new meaning to ‘tinkering while Rome burns’.”
But Ms Niblett insisted: “I would do that no matter what party I was in and I hope the campaign itself doesn’t wane because people want to use that as a weapon to make the party political.
“This is definitely political. There are things we need to do within the system to deliver better sex education and support, and these can only happen from top-down government.”
One of Ms Niblett’s allies is Labor MP Alistair Strathern, who wants the government to make relationships and sex education compulsory for 16 to 18-year-olds.
In June, he introduced the Relationships and Sexual Education (Further Education Sector) Bill to Parliament.
It follows a petition by the survivor-led campaign group Make It Mandatory, which called for sex education to be made compulsory for 18-year-olds, attracting more than 106,000 signatures.
