Dawn Butler
Dawn Petula Butler (born 3 November 1969) is a British Labour Party politician who has been a Member of Parliament (MP) for Brent Central since 2015.
Dawn Butler MP | |||||||||||||
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Official portrait, 2020 | |||||||||||||
| Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office | |||||||||||||
| In office 3 November 2009 – 11 May 2010 | |||||||||||||
| Prime Minister | Gordon Brown | ||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Tom Watson | ||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Caroline Nokes | ||||||||||||
| Minister for Young Citizens and Youth Engagement | |||||||||||||
| In office 30 October 2009 – 11 May 2010 | |||||||||||||
| Prime Minister | Gordon Brown | ||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Office established | ||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Office abolished | ||||||||||||
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| Member of Parliament for Brent Central | |||||||||||||
| Assumed office 7 May 2015 | |||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Sarah Teather | ||||||||||||
| Majority | 20,870 (42.5%) | ||||||||||||
| Member of Parliament for Brent South | |||||||||||||
| In office 5 May 2005 – 12 April 2010 | |||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Paul Boateng | ||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Constituency abolished | ||||||||||||
| Personal details | |||||||||||||
| Born | Dawn Petula Butler 3 November 1969 Newham, London, England | ||||||||||||
| Political party | Labour | ||||||||||||
| Other political affiliations | Socialist Campaign Group | ||||||||||||
| Website | www | ||||||||||||
Born in London to Jamaican parents, Butler served prior to entering politics as a trade union officer and adviser to the Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone. She was elected as the MP for Brent South at the 2005 general election. She served in Prime Minister Gordon Brown's government as Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office and Minister for Young Citizens and Youth Engagement from 2009 to 2010. She lost her seat at the 2010 general election to the Liberal Democrat candidate, Sarah Teather. She returned to parliament as the MP for Brent Central at the 2015 general election. Initially a supporter of Andy Burnham, Butler later became a close ally of Jeremy Corbyn during his tenure as Leader of the Opposition.
In October 2016, Butler was appointed to the new role of Shadow Minister for Black and Minority Ethnic Communities by Corbyn after his re-election as Labour leader. In February 2017, she resigned to vote against the triggering of Article 50, which formally launched the Brexit negotiations, but returned to the portfolio in June of that year before being promoted to the Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Secretary of State for Women and Equalities in the August. She stood in the 2020 Labour Party deputy leadership election and came last, in fifth place. She was removed from the Shadow Cabinet by new Labour leader Keir Starmer in 2020 and returned to the backbenches.