The MP for Brent central put parliamentary etiquette aside to call out the PM and the Tories and she’d do it all again.
Earlier this week, Dawn Butler was kicked out of the Commons for her impassioned and poignant speech in which she tore into the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, calling him a “liar” and labelling the current administration’s behaviour over the past 18 months as “dangerous”.
Clips of the Commons address have been flooding social media ever since, racking up millions of views across dozens of accounts, with many applauding her for being willing to push the boundaries of polite and proper parliamentary procedure.
I have been thrown out of Parliament for saying what we all know:
Boris Johnson has lied to the House of Commons and the country over and over again.
But I’ve got news for the Tories, I will never stop speaking truth to power! pic.twitter.com/JtBdhOSXuY
— Dawn Butler MP✊🏾💙 (@DawnButlerBrent) July 22, 2021
Writing in the Metro, Butler has said “would do it all over again”, stating: “I needed to voice this; I needed Government to listen.”
In her piece, the 51-year-old goes on to say “I don’t regret a thing, I stand by what I said. I simply had enough and had to speak truth to power”.
“My stance has clearly struck a chord with the country. Maybe there are more of us that stand together than the PM and his cronies realise. Many people are wondering why I got ejected and handed a one-day suspension for saying something that every one of us knows to be true.
“It’s a good question. Especially as this came on the same day Jacob Rees-Mogg was criticised for using the highly offensive term ‘yellow peril’, considered a racist term about the ‘threat’ of East Asian people to the West.
“He received no punishment, even though the rules clearly state MPs should not use abusive or offensive language”. Let’s not forget, this is the same man who also enjoyed the luxury of being able to exercise his parliamentary privilege in order to libel a journalist.
She goes on to talk at length about the hypocrisy of the government, the Commons climate and other instances of unparliamentary behaviour just in this past week.
Butler reemphasises her belief, stating that “The truth is, Boris Johnson IS a liar” and even goes on to say: “This very Government attempted to shut down Parliament – something which the High Court found unlawful – to escape criticism over its Brexit strategy. In my opinion, the PM lied to the Queen!”
You can read the full thing here. We spoke to Dawn not long ago about issues surrounding racism in the media, politics and the challenges she has faced as an MP.
