Dawn Butler MP: speeches

Speeches

• 2 Sept 2026 · Disability Living Allowance: Qualifying Period for Children · Hansard source

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  I will call Michelle Welsh to move the motion; I will then call the Minister to respond. I remind other hon. Members that they may make a speech only with prior permission from the Member in charge of the debate and from the Minister. As is the convention for 30-minute debates, there will not be an opportunity for the Member in charge to wind up.

• 2 Sept 2026 · EU Membership Referendum: Impact on the UK · Hansard source

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  Order. I remind Members that they need to stand if they would like to participate in the debate. I will impose a hard three-minute time limit. Please be mindful of your comrades if you take interventions.

• 2 Sept 2026 · EU Membership Referendum: Impact on the UK · Hansard source

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  Order. To try to fit everybody in, we are going to have to drop the time limit to two and a half minutes. I call Clive Jones.

• 1 Sept 2026 · Direction of Government · Hansard source

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  The Prime Minister has hit the road running and is running into issues where action is long overdue. Following my six-year campaign to scrap “aim to permit”, I thank the Prime Minister for making that announcement over the summer. Local people will now have a say in what their high street looks like and the vibrancy of them, and local councils will now have a say too. Will the Prime Minister work with me to reinvigorate our high streets, and will he also implement a few more of my campaigns?

• 25 Jun 2026 · Windrush Day · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend and I co-chair the all-party parliamentary group on women in Parliament. There are many times when we agree on things, believe it or not—people think we do not agree across the House sometimes. Does she agree that not only was the racism real then but it is really disappointing that that generation is now saying that what is happening on our streets and the abuse that they are getting today is very reminiscent of what happened when they first came to the country? We must set a better example and ensure that parliamentarians stop stoking division and hate in our country.

• 25 Jun 2026 · Windrush Day · Hansard source

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  It is an absolute and wonderful pleasure to follow my hon. Friend the Member for Dulwich and West Norwood (Helen Hayes) and her beautiful tribute to the Windrush generation and her constituents. I know how much they appreciate the fact that she calls for this debate in Parliament every single year, and I concur with her on the beautiful exhibition in Portcullis House. However, I slightly disagree on raising the Windrush’s anchor. I have had this conversation with Sir Patrick Vernon, and I would prefer the money to be spent on a learning centre and an educational trust. I feel that would be a more worthwhile spend of money. My mum and dad came here on British passports. They would be considered part of the Windrush generation, and they are extremely proud of coming on their British passports. The way they were taught English in school was way better than how we were taught English in school, and we often got into trouble for how we spoke, because we were not speaking the Queen’s English. I remember being in the garden with my father one day and asking him to sing the national anthem. He started singing “God Save the Queen”, but I wanted him to sing the Jamaican national anthem, because I wanted to learn it. There is a deep history there. As my hon. Friend said in her moving speech, some politicians are trying to divide us, but there is so much that unites us. The Windrush scandal has been such a painful time. The first time I heard of it was when Winston, as I will call him, came to see me in my surgery. He had been working for the council for 40 years and was looking forward to his retirement, but when it was time for retirement, he was told that because he was not legally here, he would not have access to his pension. I was absolutely stunned by that. Sometimes constituents do not tell us the full story, and I thought that maybe there was more to it, but on further investigation I found that it was just a complete injustice. Winston was embarrassed and ashamed. I would say to him that it was not his embarrassment or shame to carry, because this was something done to him by the British Government. However, there is a lack of understanding of the pride that this generation brings with them, as seen in how they carry themselves, how they speak and how they dress. People carrying things in a plastic bag is a no-no in the Jamaican community. If it is see-through, it is called a scandal bag, and is embarrassing because nobody should see what someone has in their bag. There is a lot of pride, which is why this has caused such embarrassment and shame. I asked Jacqui McKenzie, who is the head of immigration, asylum and Windrush cases at Leigh Day, about the cases she is currently dealing with. The first issue, she said, is the excessive delay, with some people waiting four years. Many of them are very elderly, and the stress of the wait has caused illnesses such as dementia. We should hold our heads in shame. There are problems with claims for loss of earnings and the impact on people of a life lived in limbo, waiting for a decision, or in shame, waiting for the Government to acknowledge they belong in the country. That has a profound effect, and the fact that it is not considered is unacceptable. People were sacked from their jobs and they did not get their promotions. Some people could not find places to live or to rent, and as I have mentioned, they did not get their pensions. All of this is unacceptable. Caseworkers are currently not sufficiently trained. Constituents have told me that caseworkers have said to them, “Whereabouts is that?” or, “Are you sure?” when they present information. Teachers have contacted me saying that they can vouch for the West Indian children they taught in their schools if we need evidence, and that is how the community is coming together to try to right these wrongs. Jacqui also mentioned the misinterpretation of demonstrating lawful status, which has led to cases being refused incorrectly. For example, two brothers, now in their 30s, applied for indefinite leave to remain in 2008 as children of settled Windrush parents. The Home Office wrongly refused their application, but years later the Home Office admitted it had made a mistake. However, it has not corrected the knock-on effects that the error caused, and those brothers are still waiting for justice five years later. I have constituents who went to Jamaica to visit family or bury a relative, and when they went to the airport, they were told they could not come back and they were stuck in Jamaica. We have cases of people stuck in Jamaica for 10 years—10 years! One resident who is stuck in Jamaica has plenty of evidence, but he has been refused compensation based on having no lawful status, which is wrong. He was offered £10,000, but then was told that giving him that amount of money was a mistake, which has retraumatised him, and he is now showing signs of dementia. There are problems with requests for updates, and there is a lack of transparency and a lack of care. All of this is unacceptable. As my hon. Friend mentioned, there is also a discrepancy between claimants in decision making. In exactly the same cases, sometimes in the same family, when people have presented their information, they have been given different awards. Some get no award, some get £10,000 and some get £40,000. All this shows that the system is not fit for purpose. The scheme should be moved from the Home Office, which should never have been the administrator of a scheme when it was responsible for the injustice it has inflicted on others. We also need a truly independent appeal mechanism, as well as more experienced staff. At the moment, constituents have to go to the ombudsman, which means they have to go to their MP, who has to sign the application, so we need a straightforward appeal system. The current system is built to retraumatise people who have been wronged. Lastly, we need a Windrush inquiry. We really need to know and understand the cause of the scandal, but also why it is still ongoing. We should be providing redress instead of causing trauma. Next year is the 10th anniversary of this scandal, and the consequences and injustices are still ongoing. It is our job to do this, and when the Minister gets to her feet, I hope she will commit to our putting these injustices right.

• 25 Jun 2026 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  In Brent, the support staff at Woodfield school face a cut in hours that equates to a cut of about £4,000 in their wages. The school is suggesting that it will fire and rehire them. The staff are on strike. The National Education Union is trying to negotiate, in order to save services, terms and conditions and jobs. Will the Leader of the House support me in ensuring that issues to do with special educational needs and disabilities funding do not jeopardise the care of children, or the terms and conditions of support staff?

• 11 Jun 2026 · Grenfell Tower Fire: Ninth Anniversary · Hansard source

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  Justice delayed is justice denied. It is great that the Met has now come to this position. Does my hon. Friend agree that we should try to ensure that the cases are fast-tracked in our criminal system so that justice can now be speeded up?

• 11 Jun 2026 · Legacy of Jo Cox · Hansard source

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  That is incredible. These are sometimes signs and messages as opposed to coincidences, but what is not a coincidence is your kindness and the person you have been in this House. It obviously runs in the family. We need those traits more than ever in society, because there are politicians in this House and activists in our country who are intent on sowing division. As much as we try to stop them, it sometimes feels as though we are not winning the battle. That is tough, when we know there are more better people in the world than there are bad. It is tough because the people who are fuelled by money, ego and power are getting more publicity than anybody else. Yesterday I was on Iain Dale’s show, having an argument with a Member from the other place. He kept saying, “Social media is a voluntary contract; it shouldn’t be banned or legislated.” Well, he was completely talking out of his rear end. [ Interruption. ] I’m getting better. He failed to understand the real damage that social media can do. Social media is like somebody producing a hate leaflet and delivering it through someone else’s letterbox, whether they want it or not. The fact that people get rewarded and paid to do that means that they do it more often. We have to recognise that in government, and we have to we legislate. It is tough, but we have to do it. We are in a different world right now.

• 11 Jun 2026 · Legacy of Jo Cox · Hansard source

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  I agree 100%: we have to hit them where it hurts. There have to be consequences. We have laws on inciting hatred in our country, and yet these companies seem to openly and flagrantly bypass them. The leader of Reform gets something like half a million or a million views whenever he posts a hate post—he is not that popular by any stretch of the imagination. It just feeds egos, and we need to legislate.

• 11 Jun 2026 · Legacy of Jo Cox · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to follow my hon. Friend the Member for Bethnal Green and Stepney (Rushanara Ali) and to have heard all the incredible speeches today. I thank my wonderful hon. Friend the Member for Spen Valley (Kim Leadbeater) for securing this debate on the legacy of Jo Cox—her sister and our friend. The debate has brought the House together in considering where we should be as a House and a society. The Opposition Members who really need to listen to this debate are not here—I do not mean the hon. Member for Brighton Pavilion (Siân Berry), who gave an amazing speech, or the hon. Member for Dewsbury and Batley (Iqbal Mohamed). There are others who sit on those Benches who we know—we are dancing around it—are the agitators of a lot of hate. That is their hallmark. I want to talk about a sunny evening. I grabbed my karaoke machine, two microphones and a bottle of vodka, and headed to a boat party for the 2015 intake, hosted by Jo Cox in Wapping. We croaked out some amazing songs. As we drank, the songs got better and longer. I think Jo sang “I Know Him So Well”—the extended version by Elaine Paige—which I know she sang many times with her younger sister. They even had dance moves—I have seen the videos. It was an evening of joy and laughter, and I actually forgot about the awards that we gave out. It was a wonderful evening of fellowship and love. Actually, I have a confession to make, so I am glad that my right hon. Friend the Member for Ilford North (Wes Streeting) is not in the Chamber: I got us a taxi there and he got me a taxi home, and I may have had to ask the driver to pull over so I could be sick. If my right hon. Friend’s Uber rating went down a bit, that may have been my responsibility. I feel like now is the time to make that confession—it just feels right. On 16 June, as I lay on the sofa recovering from the boat party, it flashed up on the news that an MP had been stabbed. The WhatsApp group exploded. We were all thinking, “Who’s that? Who could that be?” It was unbelievable when somebody said that it was Jo—it can’t be Jo. I also thought, “How can it be Jo? We were just together.” The fact that Jo was going to her surgery on that day is a testament to who she was. She had hosted a very rowdy event, and she was determined that she would go to her surgery and do the job that she was elected to do. That is a testament to the amazing woman, advocate and politician she was. Bernard Kenny was also stabbed as he tried to save Jo. He was a hero. In a strange coincidence, they shared the same birthday. I feel that that was a sign from the gods that they wanted Jo to be with us for a little bit longer—like her work was not finished. Bernard was given an award by the Queen; I think his wife picked it up for him. It is great to mention him, too.

• 11 Jun 2026 · Legacy of Jo Cox · Hansard source

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  In fact, we are already paying the consequences. If we do not take this issue as seriously as we should now, we cannot foresee the additional harms that will happen. The growth of the involuntary celibate movement—the underground movement that we did not really know about, but that we felt through the rise in misogyny and hate against women—was being fuelled by social media. Just because we are not a part of it, it does not mean we do not have to legislate. That is also why I feel that we have to legislate for the individual. As soon as we introduce legislation, it is out of date. We have to legislate to protect the individual—to protect our voice and our image. I agree with the key calls from the most recent report of the Jo Cox Foundation. One is that political parties should enforce higher standards of conduct. That needs to happen, but some political parties will not care. In fact, some political parties actually recruit people who they know have violent intent and are racist, misogynistic, antisemitic, Islamophobic or homophobic. They actively go out to find them. We have to find a way to combat that. Another of the report’s calls is that elected representatives and candidates should actively lead by example, maintaining civility during robust democratic debate. We can all take a leaf out of that book. The report also says that tech companies should do more to prevent and reduce online harms; media, digital and political literacy education should be expanded for all ages, to build greater understanding; and lastly, the Government should ensure sustained funding, police resourcing and cross-border co-ordination to protect elected representatives. It is a sad fact that we need more protection than ever before. It is a sad fact that social media means that our speeches can sometimes be manipulated and misrepresented. The rules of the House are complex, and that can be easily manipulated for a certain agenda. It is a sad fact that that then puts us at risk in this place and outside it. A lot more needs to be done. Jo was a great advocate for everyone—for people in Africa, for the children, for Syria. She would have hated what was happening right now in our country—she would have hated the rhetoric, and she would have been on the frontline, fighting. I want to end with a poem by a Syrian poet. “It does not matter that I love her endlessly… She lives in a world that the devil dreams to flee… And yet she stands strong with a smile shinning through her lips… With a laugh musical, poetry to my ears… She is a brave woman…gentle and free”. May Members of this House be a little bit more like Jo.

• 11 Jun 2026 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  I have been working with the Met police on stolen mobile phones. We are making some progress, but the mobile phone companies need to be held to account. The Met commissioner is now calling on the Government to introduce legislation to ensure that mobile phone companies implement a kill switch so that mobile phones, once stolen, are not valuable. Will the Leader of the House make time for us to discuss this matter and pursue legislation?

• 18 May 2026 · Backing Business to Create Economic Growth · Hansard source

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  I used to work in the employment service, and Thatcher encouraged us not to sign people on, and to instead put them on the sick. The Conservatives created a whole generation of people on the sick, just to manipulate the numbers. How do you like those apples?

• 18 May 2026 · Backing Business to Create Economic Growth · Hansard source

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  In the time that I have, I would like to touch on two important areas with regards to backing business and creating economic growth. The first is the tourist levy. London is the gateway to British tourism. Of the 38 million inbound visits to the UK in 2023, just over half were to our capital. I therefore welcome the Government’s announcement of this measure, but I would like to see a little more pace and progress. That legislation could do so much for boroughs such as Brent, which includes Wembley stadium; I hope there will be a 50:50 split in the visitor levy. Secondly, I want to touch on high streets, which I have mentioned in this Chamber a number of times. When we talk about growth and investment, we have got to think about where that comes from. We have to ensure that we have resilient local communities. If the Government committed to scrapping “aim to permit”, which is part of the Gambling Act 2005, there would be a dramatic effect on the growth of our local economy and high streets. “Aim to permit” means that councils are often powerless to refuse applications for betting shops, even if there is public protest and the clustering of shops, like there is in my constituency. As shown in videos I have made, gambling shops are disproportionately found in areas that are more economically deprived, so the Government would be carrying out a justice for all those areas if they were to scrap that measure. I have asked people what they want to see on their high streets, and even people coming out of gambling shops did not say gambling shops; they said they wanted gyms, libraries and cinemas—literally anything but a gambling shop. This change would cost the Government nothing and could have been done in the King’s Speech—I am disappointed that it was not—but we can make progress. I acknowledge the Government’s gambling impact assessment, introduced through the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act 2026. That is a good step forward in ensuring that local people’s voices are listened to, but it really is not enough. I wrote a letter to the Government that had almost 300 signatures, and I will continue to update that letter until the Government do what I ask—it gets more signatures all the time. I warmly welcome the drive for economic growth. The IMF has upgraded the Government’s growth forecast, which is good, but we need to do better and think about where that growth comes from and who it will benefit. I feel that ending “aim to permit” will do exactly as I have outlined.

• 18 May 2026 · Backing Business to Create Economic Growth · Hansard source

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  Does my hon. Friend remember when a former Tory Prime Minister gave a guarantee to small businesses that there would be no paperwork to trade with the EU, because they recognised how much of a disadvantage and how problematic it would be?

• 16 Apr 2026 · Housing Needs: Young People · Hansard source

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  Order. I remind Members to bob if they wish to partake in the debate.

• 16 Apr 2026 · Housing Needs: Young People · Hansard source

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  Order. I ask that Members please speak for roughly six minutes so that we can fit everybody in.

• 16 Apr 2026 · Neuroscience and Digital Childhoods · Hansard source

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  We begin with the Select Committee statement. Dame Chi Onwurah will speak on the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee’s inquiry into neuroscience and digital childhoods for up to 10 minutes, during which no interventions may be taken. At the conclusion of her statement, I will call Members to put questions on the subject of the statement, and call Dame Chi Onwurah to respond to them in turn. Questions should be brief and Members may ask only one each.

• 16 Apr 2026 · NHS Federated Data Platform · Hansard source

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  It is wonderful to serve under your chairmanship, Dame Siobhain. The reality is that the Government have inherited a mess. We must not take responsibility for that mess. I congratulate the hon. Member for Newton Abbot (Martin Wrigley) on securing the debate; he mentioned the £1 that Palantir paid to get its foot in the door. Some might say that was a smart business move; others might say that was a con or a trap. The first responsibility of a Government is to ensure that they protect their citizens. In order to do that, we must have AI and data sovereignty. We must ask ourselves: does Palantir allow us to have that AI and data sovereignty? I think the answer to that is no. We have too much reliance on US systems. I was in hospital just the other week and the system is designed for the US, so that QR codes can be scanned at every action, because in America patients have to pay for everything, from blood tests to anything else. We do not have to deal with that, because luckily we have the NHS. To say that we cannot do better in the UK just is not true. Unison and the BMA have severe concerns about Palantir, and they have said that they would like the Government to have a system that is based on ethics and values. That should be our starting point—a system of ethics and values. There are better alternatives and it is untrue to say that there are not. The BMA and Unison briefing talks about local platforms that already exceed FDP capability. For example, OpenSAFELY, developed at the University of Oxford, is an open source, privacy-preserving platform that has supported more than 200 NHS research projects. The reality is that 30 people decided on the contract. Unison represents 1.3 million public service workers, and the BMA represents all doctors. They all have concerns. The Government need to cut loose the relationship with Palantir and have a transparent review that includes workers, trade unions and the public.

• 18 Mar 2026 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  Q6. At the international conference last week, it was clear that mobile phone theft is international organised crime. It drags in people as young as 14 years old. The Mayor of London and the Met commissioner have spent money on the latest tech to combat that crime, and it is working, but they need help. Manufacturers have the ability to deploy a kill switch to make stolen mobile phones worthless, but they do not do it—although Samsung takes it more seriously than Apple. If manufacturers do not do that, will the Government implement legislation to design out crime and keep our streets safe?

• 18 Mar 2026 · Points of Order · Hansard source

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  On a point of order, Mr Speaker. You are also not responsible for the questions asked. The Leader of the Opposition said that it was following British values to attack Muslims praying. I just wonder if that brings this House into disrepute in regard to British values.

• 12 Mar 2026 · Defending Democracy Taskforce · Hansard source

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  I hope that the shadow Minister will get to her feet and correct the record, because there is a far greater threat from the far right than there is from Islam. In this holy month of Ramadan, I am sure that Muslims all over the country will be praying for her soul, whether she deserves it or not. I sit on the Speaker’s steering group on AI, which is chaired quite expertly by you, Madam Deputy Speaker, and every month, I put a “block of the month” on my social media. The threats to our safety are getting worse. A small number of tech firms are deciding what a large number of people see and hear on their social media platforms, with very little oversight or accountability. Eight people, basically, decide what 8 billion people see. I hope the Minister will agree that we cannot put guardrails around the AI industry—it is moving too quickly—so we need to put guardrails around human beings. We need to make sure that our rights, our voice, our image and what we do are protected, so we need to focus on guardrails around the humans. I hope the Minister will consider my human rights Bill, which I will be proposing very shortly.

• 12 Mar 2026 · International Women’s Day · Hansard source

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  We should also recognise that some people have also been transphobic. We must be mindful that a lot of trans people feel very vulnerable at this time; some have committed suicide. Can we also hold them in our thoughts in this debate?

• 12 Mar 2026 · International Women’s Day · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for giving way. You may be coming to this, but it is an incredible—