After a debate in which it can be argued that no one party came out with its standing enhanced, Dale Butler's decision to resign from Cabinet stands out as an act of true integrity and courage.

Indeed, Mr. Butler's decision and preceding behaviour can be seen as truly parliamentary, and there is no doubt that Premier Dr. Ewart Brown will miss his energy and effort.

He maintained solidarity with the Cabinet prior to the vote and made it clear that he would support the Government. He also made the speech that turned out to be the watershed event of the night when he gave Premier Dr. Ewart Brown an out – if he made a sufficient apology, he would retain Mr. Butler's vote. This in turn gave other PLP dissidents a way to continue to support the Government without betraying their principles.

In that sense, just as Dame Jennifer Smith rescued the Premier from a no confidence motion in the Progressive Labour Party caucus and Independent MP Wayne Furbert rescued him from defeat on a Government bill recently, so Mr. Butler rescued him on Friday.

And Dr. Brown did in fact apologise, although it was one of those semi-apologies along the lines of I am "sorry if my actions offended you", without actually renouncing the actions themselves.

Nonetheless, it seemed to be enough to get the PLP through the current crisis, and gave MPs enough cover to the support the Government.

Although Mr. Butler has not spoken publicly, it seems reasonable to assume that Dr. Brown's speech, although enough to keep him in the PLP, was not enough to keep him in Cabinet, because it seemed to be aimed at dividing the community as much as possible.

Indeed, it contrasted so dramatically with the tone of so many Government MPs speeches, that one might wonder if Dr. Brown was listening. And it certainly contrasted with Mr. Butler's.

Where Dr. Brown saw a white mob which could easily have come from the South in the 1950s, Mr. Butler saw his constituents. He didn't see a hateful and disrespectful group of people, he saw a group of people who hadn't had much practice at this and who got carried away. Like Dame Jennifer, he saw Bermudians. Like Dame Jennifer, he did not question the motives of demonstrators based on their complexion.

Where Dr. Brown saw people determined to bring him down and plots all around, Mr. Butler saw people all around him who were offended by a high handed and rash action which went beyond the boundaries of good governance.

The overwhelmingly positive response to President Barack Obama – against whom there has not been a word of criticism in all of this – in Bermuda continues to underline the hunger in this community for a person who can bring the community together and can recognise and build on the shared values and cultural heritage that transcend age, class, wealth and most especially race.

What happens to Mr. Butler from here is not clear, but he should have a role in shaping that kind of future for Bermuda.