Dawn Butler has said she “won’t be silenced” over celebrating ethnic minority representation after she appeared to have been reported to the police online for praising the Labour government “showing off the melanin”.
After Monday’s meeting of the parliamentary Labour party, attended by all 411 MPs, Butler posted the phrase with three photographs on X, one of which featured her with eight colleagues: Kim Johnson, Zarah Sultana, Bell Ribeiro-Addy, Apsana Begum, Florence Esholomi, Juliet Campbell, Miatta Fahnbulleh and Taiwo Owatemi.
Labour Government showing off the melanin 🥰 pic.twitter.com/VUgZUBBOop
— Dawn Butler ✊🏾💙 (@DawnButlerBrent) July 8, 2024
Responding to the post, a user replied: “Just imagine if a white MP celebrated the lack of melanin in a group photo..?
“@Keir Starmer are you ok with party racism? @metpoliceuk how about you? You’ve just lost my respect because I thought you were about the UK not just one demographic.”
Butler told the Guardian: “We often talk about having to ‘see it to be it’, and how representation matters. But for some when colour is mentioned they get offended. And expect me to be silent. I celebrated that Rachel Reeves is the first female chancellor of our country, so why can’t black and brown people be celebrated too?”
After making the post, the following day Butler said on X: “This ruffled a few feathers someone even reported me to the police. Honestly I can’t stop laughing. My morning message to those people is, get used to me celebrating my greatness, I will not play small to make you feel better about yourself.”
The Metropolitan police have been contacted for comment.
It comes after Starmer unveiled his new cabinet, which has the highest number of state-educated and female ministers in history.
Overall, a record 89 minority ethnic MPs were elected to parliament but the foreign secretary, David Lammy, remains the only black cabinet minister in Starmer’s government, which has prompted concern on Labour benches.
Starmer’s cabinet will also have two ministers of Asian descent: Shabana Mahmood, one of the UK’s first Muslim female MPs, as justice secretary, and Lisa Nandy as culture secretary.
Diane Abbott, who officially became the new mother of the house on Wednesday, also celebrated the growing number of female MPs. “When I was a new member in 1987, there were only 40 female members of parliament. Today we have 264, and some of us are glad that we have lived to see this,” she told the Commons.
“And I can’t speak about the increased numbers of female members of parliament without referencing my predecessor, Baroness Harriet Harman, who did so much to work to have an equal and diverse house.
“We are going into very tumultuous times, and, historically, this house has played a role in these events both nationally and internationally. And I’m sure it will be the same going forward.”
