Sunday at Labour conference was a trying affair. Beset by questions about whether Tory voters were ‘scum’ or not, many leading left-wing politicians sought out the fleshpots of Brighton to drown their sorrows. And where better to do that then at Dawn Butler’s legendary Jamaica night, held this year in the gratifyingly sticky confines of Brighton’s much-loved Pryzm nightclub?
Just like party infighting and Piers Corbyn, Butler’s Kingston knees-up has become a mainstay of recent conference shindigs. Activists, MPs, hacks and various hangers-ons all endured the half-an-hour wait to enter the bowels of Pryzm, accompanied by the rhythmic beats of a steelpan band. For £5 a head attendees were treated to complimentary rum punch and a hand stamp which bore the imprint ‘Dawn Butler Jamaica party’ – replete with an imprint of Labour’s red rose. Under new management indeed.
The night began slowly but swiftly filled up, fuelled no doubt by various house tunes remixed with John Bercow’s ‘Order!’ cries. Labour’s great and good began to appear: a grim-faced Lloyd Russell-Moyle was spotted circling the dance floor while a besuited Barry Gardiner began the night looking bemused but ended it as the toast of selfie-snapping starstruck teens. Elsewhere Nadia Whittome struggled to get served for drinks while Butler herself was bedecked in a Jamaica flag t-shirt.
As the night wore on and fringe events began to empty, the room started to heave. A scrum three rows deep packed out the bar while on the dance floor the shuffling amateurs of the early hours were replaced by hardened veterans as the timeless classic of ‘Fatman Scoop’ filled the air. At last, the main attraction for the night arrived: Sadiq Khan turned up around 11 p.m. – flanked by a squad of goons. As the music died down, London’s Mayor took to the stage to issue (another) pop at the new DLUHC minister:
I’ve got to say – the best party in this Labour conference week is Dawn Butler’s Jamaican party. I’ve got to tell you, I saw Michael Gove coming to Brighton but Michael Gove likes dancing so don’t be surprised if you see Michael Gove here dancing. Have a great conference, have a great Dawn Butler Jamaican night.
There’s one mayor confident he won’t be getting special treatment from the levelling up funds. Away from the excessively improvised moves of certain Labour delegates, Steerpike enjoyed the (increasingly) loud musings of one well-respected lobby journalist at the bar and another less well-known hack’s amorous enterprises behind the DJ booth.
As Butler deftly led attendees in a dance chorus, one could only wonder what better shape Labour would be in if it shared the Brent MP’s aptitude for choreography. At least one party came out well of this conference eh?
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