Dawn Butler - Parliamentary Career

Parliamentary Career

Butler's first attempt at entering Parliament was in Hackney South where she featured on a Labour All Women Shortlist but was unsuccessful Butler put herself forward for selection for West-Ham but was not selected. Following the retirement of Paul Boateng to become British High Commissioner to South Africa she was selected as the Labour candidate in Brent South and won the subsequent election with a majority of 11,326. She is the third black woman to become a British MP, the others being Diane Abbott and Oona King.

Butler made her maiden speech on 24 May 2005 in which she described her constituency as a "shining example of integration at its best", highlighted the importance of the Warwick Agreement with the Trade Unions, paid tribute to other sitting and former black MPs and said she would be a voice for youth.

Interest in youth services has continued as one of her main interests in Parliament. On 24 October 2006 she was appointed Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Youth Affairs, and she is an Honorary Vice President of the British Youth Council. After Gordon Brown became Prime Minister, on 27 June 2007, Butler was made one of the Labour Party's six Vice Chairs, with particular responsibility for Youth issues.

She was appointed to the Select Committee on the Modernisation of the House of Commons shortly after her election, and has also served on standing committees (notably on the Violent Crime Reduction Bill 2006). In November 2007 she was appointed to the Children & Families Select Committee. Earlier (in November 2005), she had been promoted to Parliamentary Private Secretary to the health minister Jane Kennedy, but decided to stand down from this post in early 2006.

On 6 November 2007, Butler was chosen to second the Queen’s Speech. Her voting record shows she has largely been loyal to the government. She was promoted to Assistant Whip on 12 September 2008.

Butler was named female MP of the year at the 2009 Women in Public Life awards, beating fellow Labour MPs Margaret Moran and Sharon Hodgson. Following her appointment as Minister for Young Citizens and Youth Engagement, Butler became the first black woman to speak from the Despatch Box in the House of Commons during question time on 9 December 2009.