Dua Lipa uses Brit Awards acceptance speech to call for NHS pay rise

Dua Lipa used her acceptance speech at the Brit Awards to call for a pay rise for NHS workers.

The singer picked up the female solo artist award and announced she would be sharing her trophy with Dame Elizabeth Anionwu, the emeritus professor of nursing at the University of West London.

She said Dame Elizabeth has said there is a “massive disparity between gratitude and respect for frontline workers”.

Lipa added: “It’s very good to clap for them, but we need to pay them.

“I think what we should do is we should all give a massive, massive round of applause and give Boris (Johnson) a message that we all support a fair pay rise for our front line.”

Her speech was met with rapturous applause from the crowd, which contained 2,500 people working on the front line of the pandemic in the Greater London area.

Award recipients have been given a “double trophy” which comes in two parts.

They have been encouraged to give one part of their trophy to someone else.

Lipa also celebrated the progress made with female representation at the awards.

“Last time I was up here accepting this award in 2018 I said that I wanted to see more women on these stages,” she said.

“And I feel so proud that three years later, we are seeing that happen and it really is such an honour to be part of this wave of women in music.”

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer shared a video of her speech and tweeted: “Give our NHS heroes a pay rise.”

Deputy leader Angela Rayner also voiced her support on Twitter, writing: “Well said @DUALIPA. Claps don’t pay the bills, our NHS heroes need a proper pay rise now.”

Accepting her second award of the night – best album for Future Nostalgia – Lipa called for a posthumous bravery award for 20-year-old Folajimi Olubunmi-Adewole, who recently died after jumping into the River Thames to save a woman.

She said Mr Olubunmi-Adewole, who was known as Jimi, “heroically attempted to rescue a woman who had fallen from London Bridge and tragically Jimi did not survive”.

Speaking about Jimi and a friend who was present during the rescue, Lipa said they “knowingly put themselves in danger and they did it without hesitation even though they were a stranger to each other”.