Labour Party MP Dawn Butler was expelled from her seat in the House of Commons yesterday after claiming that Prime Minister Boris Johnson had lied to the country over and over again.
Butler’s claims refer directly to Johnson’s back-peddling decisions, last-minute changes and alleged misconduct throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
Just this week, after lockdown restrictions ended across the UK, it was announced that, come September, a vaccine passport would be mandatory to get into nightclubs—which was never previously prepositioned or enforced before July 19.
Under the current parliamentary rules and regulations, MPs cannot accuse other MPs of lying in the House of Commons. After Butler made claims against Johnson, she was asked to withdraw her statements. Butler decided to stand her ground regarding her claims about Johnson and was subsequently ordered to leave the Commons.
Rules for the House of Commons explicitly state that MPs must refer to one another as “honorary members”, and all accusations of dishonesty are forbidden. In the official glossary, words like “coward”, “git”, “hooligan”, “rat”, and “stool pigeon” are also forbidden from use.
Butler said: “Poor people in this country have paid with their lives because the Prime Minister spent the last 18 months misleading this house and the country.”
Despite Butler’s dejection, many have come to her defence. Notably, deputy labour leader Angela Rayner reiterated Butler’s statements, adding that she believes it doesn’t matter who calls the PM a liar, Butler’s account is accurate.
In response to Butler’s claims, former Conservative minister Gavin Barwell exclaimed: “In general, I’m all for politicians being authentic, but there’s enough poison in our politics as it is, and we should resist a descent to the name-calling that is common in some other countries.”
Butler concluded: “At the end of the day, the Prime Minister has lied to this House time and time again, and it’s funny that we get in trouble in this place for calling out the lie, rather than the person lying.”
