People call me the sex MP but we need to be educating

Going forward, she hopes the new Prime Minister Andy Burnham will be supportive of the campaign, including her calls for a ministerial post to be dedicated to the issue of sex education and wellbeing.

The MP added despite initial reluctance, a number of her colleagues on her own Labour backbenches were beginning to come around to supporting the campaign.

Niblett said she believed a lot of minds had “changed already” and added her backbench debate, due to take place in the autumn, had cross-party support.

She said: “An initial giggly response has turned into ‘well, this is quite serious isn’t it?'”

Niblett says she has also received support from people working within the NHS and the probation service, as well as high-profile figures like actress Emma Thompson.

In a video shared by the MP last month, Thompson said: “I’m backing Samantha and Cindy’s campaign for lifelong sex education, which is not party political, but it is critical.”

Reflecting on the fallout amid the launch of her “summer of sex” campaign, Niblett says more and more are starting to recognise her for this work.

“It’s just been wonderful,” she says. “People are now starting to recognise me… it’s, ‘oh, you’re that sex MP, aren’t you?’

“I think as it picks up support across the country, you’ll probably find more of my colleagues feeling comfortable to put their head above the parapet and talk about it.

“It’s really important – that when somebody else tries to grab the microphone and diminish what you’re doing – you grab it back.”