Dawn Butler is the Labour Party MP for Brent East, having been elected to parliament at the 2005 general election for the predecessor seat of Brent South. After boundary changes, she was defeated in 2010 by Liberal Democrat candidate Sarah Teather. Butler won the seat back in 2015.

In the 2024 general election, Butler received 19,370 votes in Brent East, representing 51.2% of the vote share. The Conservative candidate, Jamila Robertson, received 6,323 votes (16.7%), while the Green Party candidate, Nida Alfulaij, secured 3,729 votes (9.9%). Butler was duly elected with a majority of 13,047 votes.

The Brent East constituency is located in inner North West London, within the London Borough of Brent. It covers areas such as Willesden Green, Dollis Hill, Cricklewood, Kilburn, Neasden and Brondesbury. It is considered a safe Labour seat and is known for its ethnic diversity, including significant Black Caribbean, Black African, and Asian communities. The area includes the site of the Neasden Temple (BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir London).

The seat was previously held by former Labour politician Ken Livingstone. Butler worked as an advisor to Livingstone during his tenure as mayor of London.

Political Career

Butler is a member of the panel of chairs (since January 2025). The panel of chairs is made up of MPs chosen by the House of Commons speaker, typically at the beginning of every parliament, to chair public bill committees and other commons general committees. In this capacity, Butler also chairs debates in Westminster Hall and may also act as temporary chair during a committee of the whole House.

At the beginning of the parliament elected in 2024, Butler stood unsuccessfully for election as chair of the science, innovation and technology committee. In the contest, the results of which were announced in September 2024, Butler secured 183 votes, placing second. They were ultimately defeated by Chi Onwurah, who won the support of 377 colleagues.

Butler previously served in the shadow cabinet as shadow secretary of state for women and equalities from 2017 to 2020 during Jeremy Corbyn’s tenure as Labour leader.

In July 2025, Butler revealed that she was considering running for mayor of London at the next scheduled elections in 2028.

Butler is a founding member of the Parliamentary Black Caucus. The cross-party group, inspired by the US Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), was established in 2025 to advance racial equality and representation for Black and minority ethnic people within parliament and across the UK.

In a statement upon the group’s formation, Butler said: “I’m honoured to launch the parliamentary Black caucus – this is a historic step toward dismantling entrenched racial inequalities and ensuring Parliament reflects the diversity of the communities it serves…

“Black communities make the UK the successful, vibrant and diverse place that it is today. We are politicians, doctors, nurses, bus drivers, artists, refuse collectors, entrepreneurs, journalists, judges, shop assistants, teachers, lawyers and the list goes on. For years, we have worked to hold up important services that everyone relies on.

“Despite this, we are still subject to structural racism. This needs to change, to ensure that the country is fair, no matter where you live, the colour of your skin or what class you are. So, I’m excited to be working with colleagues to deliver equality, equity and justice for all – and I look forward to more colleagues joining the caucus soon.”

In October 2016, Butler was appointed to the newly created role of shadow minister for Black and minority ethnic communities. However, she resigned from this position in February 2017 in order to vote against the European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill. The legislation empowered the prime minister to notify the Council of the European Union of the UK’s intention to withdraw, formally triggering the process set out in Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union. MPs supported the bill by 498 votes to 114 at second reading. In voting against the bill, Butler defied the party whip – one of 47 Labour MPs to do so.

At the time, Butler posted to Twitter (now X) that it had “been an honour to serve in [the] shadow cabinet doing a job I love. [But I] can’t let down future generations [and I will be] voting against [this] poor excuse of a bill”.

Butler was a candidate in the 2020 Labour deputy leadership election, finishing fifth. She was eliminated in the first round with 10.9% of the vote. During her campaign, Butler vowed to stand up for “socialist values”.

Butler left the frontbench upon Keir Starmer’s election as Labour leader in April 2020.

In July 2021, Butler was ordered to withdraw from the House of Commons chamber for the remainder of the day’s sitting by acting deputy speaker Judith Cummins after she refused to retract accusations that prime minister Boris Johnson had lied to parliament. Under commons rules, MPs are not allowed to accuse each other of lying in the chamber.

Butler insisted Johnson had “lied to this House and the country over and over again”. Asked to reconsider her remarks, she responded: “What would you rather: a weakened leg or a severed leg? At the end of the day, the prime minister has lied to this House time and time again.”

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In 2020, Butler referred to Boris Johnson, the then-prime minister, as “racist”.

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In November 2024, Butler faced criticism after reposting a comment on social media which called Kemi Badenoch, the newly elected Conservative Party leader, “the most prominent member of white supremacy’s black collaborator class.”

Starmer later stated that Butler “shouldn’t have said what she did”, while resisting calls to suspend her as a Labour MP. According to reports, Butler quickly removed the repost.

In Gordon Brown’s government, Butler served as minister for young citizens and youth engagement (a role within the Cabinet Office) from 2009 to 2010. She was also an assistant government whip from 2008 to 2009.

She previously served as vice chair of the Labour Party with responsibility for youth issues.

In December 2009, Butler became the first Black woman to speak from the government dispatch box in the House of Commons. She later said that Conservative MPs tried to “belittle” her. “I can’t remember his name, but one took great delight in telling me that ‘upskilling’ was not in the English dictionary. He knew it was a momentous time, but they’d all been instructed to put me down”, Butler told the Guardian in 2020.

In 2009, Butler was named Female MP of the Year at the Women in Public Life Awards.

Butler has spoken publicly about receiving racist abuse and threats. In 2020, she temporarily closed her office after having bricks hurled through the window. In a letter to constituents on the matter, Butler said: “I continue to receive on an almost daily basis threats of violence and death threats.”

She added: “My staff have been attacked in the office, verbally assaulted coming and going from work, bricks have been thrown through the windows and the frontage has been smashed.”

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Butler has also spoken out about the misogyny she has experienced during her career in parliament. In 2023, she told the Independent she had endured sexualised comments for wearing fishnet tights. Butler stated: “When I was a whip, an MP was talking about me having a real whip in the tea room in parliament. It happened more than once. It became very uncomfortable and embarrassing for me.

“Parliament was designed for men only and there is still that prevailing attitude that this is a man’s place and the women are just window dressing and there is that entitlement to belittle women.”

Butler has served on the science, innovation and technology committee (2020-2024), the education committee (May 2020 – September 2020), and the children, schools and families committee (2007-2009).

Butler is listed as a member of the all-party parliamentary groups (APPGs) for Jamaica, governance and inclusive leadership, women in parliament and artificial intelligence.

Butler delivered her maiden speech on 24 May 2005. In it, she said: “I am proud to represent the Labour party, which established the minimum wage, which some opposition parties could not find time to support…

“I am proud to represent the Labour party, which has pledged to end the equal pay gap. My constituency has more women living in it than men – 52 per cent – and equal pay has a direct effect on economic stability and business prosperity, and a direct correlation with child poverty.”

She added: “I am encouraged by the fact that in the 2005 intake of new Labour MPs, 66 per cent. are female and 7 per cent. are black and minority ethnic. As my leader said, these are no Blair babes, as he pointed to our two expectant mothers. This is modern, progressive politics reflecting our society.”

Political Views

Dawn Butler is associated with the left wing of the Labour Party.

In July 2025, Butler told the Byline Festival that figures within her party need to understand that socialism “isn’t a dirty word”.

In an apparent criticism of her party’s leadership, she stated: “I think there are too many people at the moment in the Labour Party that don’t understand the Labour Party.

“They don’t understand that we were born from the trade union movement. They don’t understand that we are a socialist party, and that’s not a dirty word, and they don’t f***ing understand.”

Leadership elections and loyalty

Labour leadership 2020: Butler was one of 22 Labour who nominated Emily Thornberry for the party’s leadership in early 2020. The election was triggered by the resignation of Jeremy Corbyn following the party’s defeat in the 2019 general election, which resulted in Labour’s fewest seats in the House of Commons since 1935.

Thornberry, then the shadow foreign secretary, was one of five candidates to reach the second stage of the contest. However, she was eliminated from the race on 15 February 2020 after failing to secure the required 33 nominations from Constituency Labour Parties (CLPs) or three affiliated groups. This left Keir Starmer, Rebecca Long-Bailey, and Lisa Nandy as the three candidates on the final membership ballot.

Labour leadership 2015: Butler was one of 36 Labour MPs who nominated Jeremy Corbyn for the party’s leadership in June 2015. The election followed the resignation of Ed Miliband after the party’s defeat in the 2015 general election. It was the first contest held under the “one member, one vote” system, which replaced the previous electoral college.

Corbyn, a veteran backbencher, secured the 36 nominations required – just one over the threshold – but only after several MPs lent him their support to ensure a broader ideological debate. His anti-austerity platform gained significant momentum, and he won a landslide victory in the first round with 59.5% of the vote.

Corbyn loyalty list: In March 2016, Butler was labelled as “core group plus” by the Corbyn leadership in a leaked list which categorised Labour MPs by their perceived loyalty. This label suggested the Corbyn leadership viewed Butler as a reliable supporter.

Labour leadership 2016: Butler was one of the minority of Labour MPs who endorsed Jeremy Corbyn during his successful defence of the party leadership in September 2016. The election was triggered following a period of intense tension after the EU referendum, which saw a wave of shadow cabinet resignations and a vote of no confidence supported by 172 MPs.

Corbyn, who was automatically included on the ballot as the incumbent, was challenged by Owen Smith, the former shadow work and pensions secretary. Corbyn won the election with an increased mandate, securing 61.8% of the vote compared to 38.2% for Smith.

Factional identity and party tradition

Socialist Campaign Group: Butler has been listed as a member of the Socialist Campaign Group (SCG) – the standard-bearer of the left wing within the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP). Founded in 1982 by followers of Tony Benn, the group has traditionally advocated policies such as widespread public ownership, wealth redistribution and strengthened trade union rights.

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Mainstream: Butler is a member of Mainstream, a centre-left network within the Labour Party. The group was launched in September 2025 by the think tank Compass and the activist group Open Labour. It describes itself as a home for “Labour’s radical realists” and aims to influence the direction of the Labour government. It has called on the government to offer a “popular, principled and practical left politics for meaningful change.”

Compass has described the group as “an independent vehicle with the sole task of saving the Labour Party from its clear drift to the right and the unintended paving of the way to a Reform government.”

The group is backed by a number of senior Labour figures, including the mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, and includes MPs and peers from various traditions within the party – from the left, soft left and the more progressive elements of New Labour.

Spycops vote (2020): In October 2020, Butler was one of the 34 Labour MPs to break the party whip by voting against the covert Human Intelligence Sources (Criminal Conduct) Bill at its commons third reading. The proposed legislation, often referred to as the “spycops bill”, was introduced by the Conservative government to authorise undercover agents and informants to commit crimes while on operations. The Labour Party had whipped its representatives to abstain on the bill on the basis that the legislation is “far from perfect” yet “necessary” due to “the need to provide a clear lawful framework for the use of human intelligence sources”.

Brexit and Europe

Brexit referendum: Butler campaigned to remain in the 2016 referendum on Britain’s membership of the European Union (EU), and therefore agreed with a majority of constituents, 57.1% of whom voted to remain.

In July 2019, speaking at a “Love Socialism, Hate Brexit” event, Butler said that “if anyone doesn’t hate Brexit, even if you voted for it, there’s something wrong with you”.

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Brexit trade deal: In December 2020, Butler was among the 37 Labour MPs to rebel against the leadership’s position on the EU (Future Relationship) Bill – which enabled the government to implement and ratify its post-Brexit trade deal with the EU. Keir Starmer, the newly elected Labour leader, argued that while the trade deal negotiated by Boris Johnson’s government was “thin” and flawed, the only alternative at that late stage was a “no-deal” exit. To enforce the leadership’s position, a three-line whip was imposed. Butler abstained over the bill. One Labour MP, Bell Ribeiro-Addy, voted against the bill.

Customs union vote (2025): In December 2025, Butler voted in favour of the UK-EU Customs Union (Duty to Negotiate) Bill. The bill, introduced under the ten-minute rule procedure by Liberal Democrat Europe spokesperson Al Pinkerton, sought to mandate the government to enter into negotiations with the European Union to establish a bespoke customs union. In total, 13 Labour MPs joined the Liberal Democrats in supporting the motion, while the majority of the party abstained.

Welfare

Welfare ‘reasoned amendment’ (June 2025): Butler was one of the over 120 Labour MPs to sign the reasoned amendment to the government’s flagship welfare bill which aimed to reject the proposed legislation.

The amendment, in the name of senior Labour MP Dame Meg Hillier, objected to the fact that the bill had not been subject to a “formal consultation with disabled people” and that “250,000 people will be pushed into poverty” as a result of it, according to a government impact assessment.

The motion also called on the government to wait for the publication of the review into the Personal Independence Payment (Pip), helmed by minister Sir Stephen Timms, and the independent review, conducted by Sir Charlie Mayfield, into how the employment of disabled people could be boosted.

In May 2025, Butler had signed a letter warning the government that the cuts were “impossible to support” and calling for a change in direction.

The letter, signed by 42 Labour MPs, read: “The planned cuts of more than £7bn represent the biggest attack on the welfare state since George Osborne ushered in the years of austerity and over 3 million of our poorest and most disadvantaged will be affected.

“Whilst the government may have correctly diagnosed the problem of a broken benefits system and a lack of job opportunities for those who are able to work, they have come up with the wrong medicine. Cuts don’t create jobs, they just cause more hardship.”

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Welfare vote (July 2025): Butler went on to abstain over the bill at second reading. The vote came after ministers agreed to significant concessions to avoid defeat via a mass rebellion of Labour MPs on 1 July 2025.

Welfare vote (July 2015): Alongside almost one quarter of her colleagues, Butler voted against the Conservative government’s Welfare Reform and Work Bill at second reading – defying the party whip which instructed Labour MPs to abstain. This decision to abstain, taken by interim Labour leader Harriet Harman, caused a furious backlash within the party, particularly from its left wing. It became a defining issue in the ongoing leadership contest. Jeremy Corbyn was the only candidate to vote against the bill. Overall, 48 Labour MPs voted against the proposed legislation.

Assisted dying

Butler voted against the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, better known as the assisted dying bill, at both second reading (November 2024) and third reading (June 2025). She described her vote as “one of the hardest decisions I will make as an MP.”

Setting out her position in the House of Commons during the bill’s second reading debate, Butler stated: “It is not an exact science when someone is given a prognosis of six months to live.

“As a patron of Black Women Rising, a cancer charity that supports black and minoritised women through their cancer journey, someone who had been given six months to live recently told me, ‘I have had a good life, and I am ready to go.’ Six weeks later, they are now fighting to live. The thing is, if we had focused only on the fact that she was ready to go and wanted to die, it would have all been very different.”

She added: “Everybody has the right to die with dignity and compassion. Whether or not this Bill progresses today, I hope those conversations will continue. After all, we are legislators, and we have the ability to do that. Eighty per cent of my constituents are against this legislation, and I will be voting against it.”

Social values and conscience issues

Lying amendment: In January 2026, Butler was listed as a supporter of an amendment to the Public Office (Accountability) Bill, often referred to as the “Hillsborough Law”, that would extend the proposed criminal offence of misleading the public to include MPs and peers. Luke Myer, the Labour MP behind the proposal, argued that his amendment would mean “no-one in parliament would be above the law”, adding: “If politicians deliberately lie to the public, there should be consequences.”

Myer stated: “This amendment is a proportionate, carefully safeguarded response to a real democratic risk. It is not about stifling debate or political disagreement, it is about ensuring that those who seek or hold public office cannot deliberately and knowingly mislead the public without consequence.

“The polling shows that voters across the political spectrum expect parliament to act.”

Myer’s amendment won the support of 30 cross-party MPs.

Trans rights: Butler attended a rally organised by Labour for Trans Rights, a pressure group within the Labour party, during the party’s annual conference in September 2025. The event was described as a “Trans Solidarity Rally” and was intended to affirm the place of transgender people and their allies within the Labour movement.

Foreign policy and security

Sanctioned (Russia): In April 2022, Butler was among the group of MPs placed on a sanctions list by the Russian government. The measure barred them from entering Russia and was presented by Moscow as a retaliatory response to the UK’s stance on the invasion of Ukraine.

Trident renewal (2016): Butler voted against a government motion calling for the renewal of the Trident nuclear deterrent system in July 2016. The motion, which was passed by 472 votes to 117, committed the UK to constructing a new fleet of submarines to carry the nation’s nuclear weapons. Labour was split over the issue with 140 of its 230 MPs going against leader Jeremy Corbyn and backing the motion.

Syria airstrikes (2015): Butler voted against a government motion to extend UK airstrikes against Isis from Iraq into Syria in December 2015. The motion, which was passed by 397 votes to 223 after a ten-hour debate in the House of Commons, authorised the RAF to conduct strikes against Isis targets in Syria.

Palestine

LFPME: Butler has been listed as a member of Labour Friends of Palestine and the Middle East (LFPME). The organisation’s stated aim is to promote peace and justice in the region through the application of international law and respect for human rights.

Palestinian recognition letter (July 2025): In July 2025, Butler was among the over 254 MPs to sign a cross-party letter calling for the government to immediately recognise the state of Palestine. The letter called on the prime minister and foreign secretary to recognise Palestine at the UN Conference then taking place in New York.

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Ceasefire vote (November 2023): Butler was among 56 Labour MPs to vote in favour of a Scottish National Party (SNP) amendment to the King’s Speech in the House of Commons calling for an “immediate ceasefire” in the Israel-Hamas war – defying the instruction set out by the party’s frontbench. Labour had tabled its own motion, making a more moderate appeal for a “humanitarian pause” in the conflict and ordered its representatives to support that stance.

Civil liberties

Covid passes campaign (2021): Butler was one of over 70 MPs and peers who launched a cross-party campaign against the “divisive and discriminatory use” of Covid passes in April 2021. The campaign was triggered by government reviews into “vaccine passports”, which signatories argued would create a two-tier society and infringe upon fundamental civil liberties.

Covid passes vote (2021): Butler was one of 126 MPs to vote against Covid passes in England in December 2021. The measure, introduced by Boris Johnson’s government, was carried by 369 votes to 126.

Before Politics

Born Dawn Petula Butler on 3 November 1969 in Forest Gate, East London, to Jamaican immigrant parents, Milo and Ambrozene Butler. She was educated at Tom Hood School in Leytonstone and Waltham Forest College.

Before entering parliament, Butler worked as an officer for the GMB Trade Union, including serving as a national officer responsible for race and equality issues. She also served as an adviser to the then-mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, focusing on employment and social issues.

Personal Life

Butler is one of six children, two girls and four boys.

In December 2021, Butler was diagnosed with breast cancer. “A mammogram saved my life”, she later told BBC News. “Without a mammogram, my cancer wouldn’t have been discovered.”

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Trivia

Butler was the first Black woman to speak from the commons despatch box (in 2009).

Butler was named “most promising feminist under 35” by the New Statesman early in her career and one of Vogue‘s 25 most influential women in 2020.

She has said that the experience of growing up with four brothers has helped her navigate Westminster.

In 2017, Butler became the first MP to use sign language to ask a question in the House of Commons.

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