People call me sex MP but we have to teach

Going forward, she hopes new Prime Minister Andy Burnham will support the campaign, including calls for a ministerial position for sex education and safety.

The MP added that although she was not the first to refuse, many of her colleagues in her own Labor seats have started coming to support the campaign.

Niblett said she believed many minds had “already been changed” and added her backbench argument she had cross-party support to be held in the autumn.

She said: “The first smile turned into, ‘Well, this is really hard, isn’t it?’ Turned into.

Niblett said she had received support from people working in the NHS and probation services, as well as high-profile figures such as actress Emma Thompson.

In a video shared by Parliament last month, Thompson said: “I support Samantha and Cindy’s campaign for lifelong sex education, which is non-partisan but vital.”

Niblett says they got to know her for this work, reflecting on the devastation she faced when her “Summer of Sex” campaign began.

“It was great,” she says. “People are starting to recognize me now… it’s like, ‘Oh, you’re that sexiest, aren’t you?’

“As it gains support around the country, I think you’ll probably find a lot of my colleagues putting their heads above the parapet and feeling comfortable talking about it.

“It’s very important – when someone else tries to grab the microphone and slow down what you’re doing – grab it back.”