Dawn Butler MP: speeches

Speeches

• 4 Jun 2025 · Regional Growth · Hansard source

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  I welcome the Minister’s announcement. It is quite wonderful to hear MPs buzzing about the investment in their constituencies, especially after 14 years of neglect by the Tories and their short-term, insufficient funding. Will the Minister reassure the House that, when the spending review comes next week, London will be recognised for its economic empowerment of the country and that there will be a different attitude to London spending that will help with infrastructure projects such as the docklands light railway and its Thamesmead extension?

• 20 May 2025 · Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories · Hansard source

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  I thank the Secretary of State for his strong statement. It feels like it has taken a long time for us to get to this point. When something is intolerable, we stop it from happening some way or another. Will this actually stop what is happening in Gaza, or is it too late? The fact that Netanyahu has said he will let a small amount of aid in means that he understands he has been withholding aid. That is a breach of international law, and we must call it out for what it is. We must insist that the hostages, and also the prisoners held without charge, are returned.

• 12 May 2025 · Points of Order · Hansard source

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  On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. Can I seek advice on how I can withdraw my ten-minute rule Bill on protecting the job title of “nurse”, which is due for its Second Reading? Today, on International Nurses Day, the Government have announced that they will adopt my Bill, and will indeed protect the title of nurse, which has made me extremely happy. As I will not have another opportunity to do so, I thank Francis Fernando, Professor Alison Leary from the #ProtectNurse campaign, Paul Trevatt, former Minister Ann Keen, Anna Lynch, the Royal College of Nursing and Unison.

• 6 May 2025 · Cullompton and Wellington Stations · Hansard source

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  I remind hon. Members that they may only make a speech with prior permission from the Member in charge of the debate and the Minister. There will not be an opportunity for the Member in charge to wind up, as is the convention for 30-minute debates.

• 6 May 2025 · Dedicated Schools Grant · Hansard source

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  I remind Members that if they want to speak in the debate, they should please stand. We have calculated that Members will have about five minutes per speech.

• 6 May 2025 · Poverty: Glasgow North East · Hansard source

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  I would like to get to the Front Benchers by 7.08 pm, so everybody has about three and a half to four minutes.

• 6 May 2025 · Poverty: Glasgow North East · Hansard source

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  I would like to leave a couple of minutes at the end for the mover of the debate to wind up. I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.

• 24 Apr 2025 · Lesbian Visibility Week · Hansard source

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  I call Liv Bailey. I am very mindful that we have a vote coming up shortly, so I may have to stop you mid-speech, Liv.

• 24 Apr 2025 · Lesbian Visibility Week · Hansard source

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  It is nice to see so many Members turn up for the wind-ups.

• 24 Apr 2025 · Lesbian Visibility Week · Hansard source

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  The debate may continue until 3.25 pm.

• 24 Apr 2025 · Lesbian Visibility Week · Hansard source

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  I remind Members that they should bob if they wish to be called in the debate.

• 22 Apr 2025 · “For Women Scotland” Supreme Court Ruling · Hansard source

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  I do not know whether anyone else in the House has butch lesbian friends and has been with them when they have been told to get out of women’s toilets, but I have—it is not pleasant; it is not nice. The people who are using this as a political football again should be ashamed of themselves. People do not understand: they are saying that trans women have to use men’s toilets and, as my hon. Friend the Member for Warrington North (Charlotte Nichols) said, trans men then have to use women’s toilets, but how will they stop them? Will they ask to see their genitalia? It makes no sense. Is my right hon. Friend aware that service providers for refuges, which provide a vital service for women in desperate need and often use their discretion, are now fearful that they will no longer be able to use their discretion when providing those services?

• 12 Apr 2025 · Steel Industry (Special Measures) Bill · Hansard source

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  Will my right hon. Friend give way?

• 12 Apr 2025 · Steel Industry (Special Measures) Bill · Hansard source

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  I thank my right hon. Friend for giving way and for the considered way in which he is looking after the national interest. The steel unions—the GMB, Community and Unite—would like clarification that any board that is set up will have at its heart the steelworkers who have kept the steelworks going through thick and thin.

• 12 Apr 2025 · Steel Industry (Special Measures) Bill · Hansard source

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  I am still a little confused about the deal negotiated by the last Government. As the Leader of the Opposition did not answer, could the hon. Gentleman please clarify the situation for the House?

• 8 Apr 2025 · Easter Adjournment · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to take part in this Easter Adjournment debate. For a moment there, I thought that the Chair of the Backbench Business Committee, the hon. Member for Harrow East (Bob Blackman), was trying to cancel Easter, which worried me. He would not just have been haunted by David Amess, believe me. I will talk briefly about gambling, the Gambling Act 2005 and how it is not fit for purpose. I am sick and tired of the number of gambling establishments popping up in my constituency. Every time a shop closes, a gambling establishment tries to put in a betting shop. The Gambling Act 2005 is not fit for the modern age. Under the “aim to permit” provision, councils must permit licences. I have had so many arguments with Brent council that it has led an amazing campaign, joined by 40 other councils around the country, calling on the Government to reform the Act so that we can protect our high streets. This is Brent’s six-point plan for change: reform the “aim to permit” policy, categorise gambling premises, consider household debt in planning, introduce a statutory levy, ban gambling advertising, and halt liberalisation of adult gaming centres. Fixed-odds betting terminals are more addictive than heroin, and for every person who is addicted to gambling, at least seven others are also affected. There are 81 licensed premises in Brent, and my constituency contains more gambling establishments than supermarkets and schools, which is ridiculous. I hope that the “English Devolution White Paper: Power and partnership” will enable us to reset the relationship between central and local government and ensure that local authorities can listen to local residents, including those in Brent East, so that when we say we need no more gambling establishes our high streets, they will no longer be allowed.

• 8 Apr 2025 · Congenital Hyperinsulinism · Hansard source

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

• 8 Apr 2025 · Horizon Redress and Post Office Update · Hansard source

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  I thank the Minister for his statement and for all the work he is doing to redress the injustice of the Horizon scandal. Can he confirm that the Communication Workers Union, as well as the National Federation of SubPostmasters, has been involved in decision making? I have lobbied him very hard about my post office in Cricklewood, so he will know that we want to and must maintain those services going forward. I think a lot of the problems stem from the separation of the Royal Mail and the Post Office following privatisation, so would he consider discussing the possibility of a joint venture again?

• 8 Apr 2025 · Persecution of Christians · Hansard source

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  I would like to get everybody in for this important debate. We are looking to get to the Minister at around 10.28 am, so you have about four minutes per speech, please.

• 8 Apr 2025 · Persecution of Christians · Hansard source

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  In order to fit everybody in, I will put a two-minute time limit on speeches.

• 8 Apr 2025 · Persecution of Christians · Hansard source

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  I remind Members that they should bob if they wish to be called in the debate. We estimate that Members should keep to a limit of around four or five minutes per speech.

• 8 Apr 2025 · Persecution of Christians · Hansard source

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  I would like to give the mover of the motion two minutes at the end.

• 7 Apr 2025 · Israel: Refusal of Entry for UK Parliamentarians · Hansard source

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  It is our job in this House to speak out against what Hamas did, but also to speak out against Israel and what it is doing. Denying Members entry is a disgrace, and I am embarrassed by His Majesty’s official Opposition and the position they have taken—they should be ashamed, and should reflect on what they have done. Krishnan Guru-Murthy’s interview with the Israeli ambassador on “Channel 4 News” clearly showed that she was lying. Does the Minister agree that the way in which our friends have been treated is a snub to the UK?

• 2 Apr 2025 · Gaza: Israeli Military Operations · Hansard source

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  Those at the Hostage and Missing Families Forum, which represents most of the captives’ families, said that they were horrified to wake up this morning to the Israeli Defence Minister’s announcement about expanding military operations in Gaza. They also said that the Israeli Government have an obligation to free all 59 hostages from Hamas captivity, and to pursue every possible channel to advance a deal for their release. Hostages have been released only when there has been a ceasefire, so a ceasefire is paramount for the release of hostages. If we believe that Israel should stop bombing Gaza, we need to stop supplying it with parts for bombs. If we believe in a two-state solution, it is about time that we recognised Palestine.

• 28 Mar 2025 · Water Bill · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Norwich South (Clive Lewis) for introducing this Bill and for his excellent speech—there are not many speeches for which those in the Gallery burst into a spontaneous round of applause. This is a complex issue and there is no easy solution. As we have heard, the Government are doing a lot of work on this and are holding water companies to account, but the question is whether more can be done. For example, how can my hon. Friend and the Government work together on this, and what can be taken from his Bill? Ultimately, my constituents, who are struggling with the cost of living crisis, do not want to be paying for the failures of the water companies, which are taking billions of pounds for their shareholders while my constituents struggle to turn the tap on. The leaks we have in Brent East are frustrating too, because after the leaks we get potholes, so all of this is interconnected. In 2023 there was a 54% increase in sewage spills —there were a whopping 464,056 spills in 2023. It is sometimes difficult to put such huge numbers into context, but the average person passes wind 7,000 to 9,000 times a year. I hope that puts into context just how many spills go into our waters and rivers— [Interruption.] I sense that is landing really well with people: we can imagine how many times we pass wind, and if we just double that, double that, double that, double that, double that, and double that again, that is how much spillage goes into our waterways. The water companies do not care. As I have said, they give billions of pounds to shareholders and some of those shareholders are part of tax avoidance schemes. I am really pleased that this Government are also tackling tax avoidance schemes, because that is vital. Infrastructure is crumbling, pollution is doubling, and my community in Brent East is paying the price—as are other MPs’ communities. I was one of 30 or so MPs who signed a letter to say that Thames Water should be put in special measures, because I do not know of any other company or organisation that can fail so many times and still be able to take money out of the system and give it to shareholders and still have a contract—it makes no sense. My constituents cannot afford the proposed increase of over 50%. This is about profits being privatised. Sometimes people, especially politicians, talk about profits and say it is the politics of envy; it is not the politics of envy when profits are taken and put in the pockets of millionaires and billionaires while the failures have to be paid for by ordinary citizens. That is not right. It is not just about the environment but about justice, because the least wealthy communities are often hit the hardest. That is why it is so important that their voices are heard in this place. I am not scared of citizens or of talking to people and having them inform us about the direction of travel. That is what we, as Members of Parliament, are here for, and the more people who talk to us and inform us of what they want to see us doing, the better. The Olympic rower and legend that is Sir Steve Redgrave is calling on the Government to tackle pollution for profit in the Thames after some of our rowers were sick after competing there. He said: “We won’t sit quietly while this catastrophe continues.” He also said that it is “completely unacceptable” and that “urgent action” is needed to stop sewage discharges at dangerously high levels—E. coli and bacteria levels are 10 times the Environment Agency’s threshold for waters. The threshold is lower in France, so we cannot really compare our levels with theirs. At the moment, Thames Water is being taken to court by the Good Law Project, defending a staggering £3 billion bailout. The other thing is this. The water companies are carrying too much debt, but that is how they manage their businesses. That needs to be called out, because the situation cannot continue. My hon. Friend’s Bill comes up with some of the solutions. I have the wonderful Brent reservoir in my constituency, which is a site of special scientific interest. It keeps water pollution levels down to the extent that we can have some surviving wildlife and fish in our rivers, but it is finding that really hard, and it does not have enough money to keep going. It was recently given £55,000 of funding from the Mayor of London’s grow back greener fund—I thank him for that—and it has managed to put in a floating ecosystem to improve water quality, but that gets harder when Thames Water pumps sewage into our rivers. That cannot continue. Change has to happen, and it has to be accelerated.