Erin Brown | Editor
Dawn Butler, a black MP, has spoken out while appearing on BBC Radio 5 on the issue of racism and sexism within parliament.
Ms Butler said she has suffered racist jibes from colleagues in her time at the House of Commons, one such incident involved her being mistaken for a cleaner by another MP. The incident took place when Ms Butler was in an elevator exclusive to members where a fellow MP (who remains anonymous) told her; “This lift isn’t really for cleaners”. She commented that “This man could not equate the image he saw in front of him with that of an MP”. The Labour MP said this was one of many episodes she has experienced from 2005 when she was first elected and onwards.
Why is it that in this day and age, a male MP could not imagine that a black woman could possibly be an equal? This begs Britain as a nation to look at ourselves and ask if racial and gender prejudices still exist in a supposedly democratic and egalitarian country. Surely having a black female member of parliament is not so fanciful a notion?
The 2011 census found that there are 31 million men in the UK and 32.2 million women, meaning there is a roughly even divide. If so, why would it be such a shock to the nameless MP who made the jibe, that Dawn Butler was a member of parliament the same as himself? With women still not even making up a third of parliamentary members and a slim 6.6% of parliament being non-white MP’s there is still a long way to go before accurate and equal representation of the people of Britain is provided.
Not only is this unnamed MP’s comment a sign that there are undertones of racism and sexism in our government, but it shows a lack of respect for those who work to keep the House of Commons operational. Without cleaners and janitorial staff, the job of MP’s would be made more difficult, as they keep the building up to a standard fit for work to be carried out, therefore, this lack of respect when hinting that a cleaner ought to exit the elevator is shameful.
Overall, this incident as revealed by Ms Butler, has piqued the attention and the speculation of the general public raising questions on how non-bias and just our representatives in the government are, through highlighting the underlying stigma that persists there. It is clear that this is not acceptable in the 21st century, and appeals for an apology and a change in attitudes is expected.
