The veteran MP won't be a Labour candidate in the election
Chris Jarvis
UPDATE: This article was updated at 12:35 on 29 May 2024 to reflect Keir Starmer saying no decision had been taken to bar Diane Abbott from standing in the general election.
Veteran Labour MP Diane Abbott has confirmed to the BBC that she has been banned from standing as a Labour candidate in the 2024 general election.
Abbott has been sitting as an independent MP since April 2023 after she had the whip removed following a letter published under her name in the Observer which implied that Jews, Irish people and Gypsy, Roma and Traveller people do not experience racism.
On Tuesday 28 May, Abbott had the Labour whip restored, but has now said that she won’t be allowed to stand for Labour in the general election on July 4.
Abbott told the BBC’s Today programme: “Although the whip has been restored, I am banned from standing as a Labour candidate.”
The news follows days of speculation about Abbott’s future in the Labour Party. Revelations from BBC Newsnight showed that the investigation into Abbott’s comments had concluded in December 2023, but she did not have the whip restored until yesterday.
The letter that led to Abbott’s suspension said of Jews, Irish people and Gypsy, Roma and Traveller people: “They undoubtedly experience prejudice. This is similar to racism and the two words are often used as if they are interchangeable.
“It is true that many types of white people with points of difference, such as redheads, can experience this prejudice. But they are not all their lives subject to racism.”
Abbott immediately apologised following the publication of the letter, saying: “I wish to wholly and unreservedly withdraw my remarks and disassociated myself from them.
“The errors arose in an initial draft being sent. But there is no excuse and I wish to apologise for any anguish caused.
“Racism takes many forms, and it is completely undeniable that Jewish people have suffered its monstrous effects, as have Irish people, Travellers and many others.”
It is not yet clear whether Abbott will now contest the election in her constituency of Hackney North and Stoke Newington as an independent. The former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn – one of Abbott’s political allies in the Labour Party – will be standing as an independent in Islington North after he too was blocked from standing as a Labour candidate.
However, she has since tweeted to say that she will be ‘campaigning for a Labour victory’ in the general election. She said: “Naturally I am delighted to have the Labour Whip restored and to be a member of the PLP. Thank you to all those who supported me along the way. I will be campaigning for a Labour victory. But I am very dismayed that numerous reports suggest I have been barred as a candidate.”
The Labour leader Keir Starmer has denied that Abbott has been prevented from standing for Labour at the next election. He told reporters today that “no decision has been taken” to block Abbott’s candidacy.
Abbott was the first black woman elected to the House of Commons and is the UK’s longest standing black MP. She was shadow home secretary during Corbyn’s leadership of the Labour Party.
Chris Jarvis is head of strategy and development at Left Foot Forward
Diane Abbott: Selection ‘farce’ as Starmer says decision not made on blocking her
Diane Abbott has said she is “delighted” to have had the Labour whip restored but is “very dismayed” about reports suggesting she has been barred from standing as a Labour candidate at the next general election.
But Sky News reports that Keir Starmer said this afternoon that “no decision has been taken to bar [Abbott] going forward”, and shadow minister Darren Jones even suggested at a press conference she could speak to the party about re-standing.
Labour faces heavy pressure to allow the first Black woman elected to parliament to re-stand however in her Hackney North and Stoke Newington constituency, with a rally due to be held at Hackney Town Hall on Wednesday night.
The veteran MP said in a statement on X this morning: “Naturally I am delighted to have the Labour whip restored and to be a member of the [Parliamentary Labour Party]. Thank you to all those who supported me along the way.
“I will be campaigning for a Labour victory. But I am very dismayed that numerous reports suggest I have been barred as a candidate.”
The news comes after a long suspension and on the eve of the general election.
The party declined to respond when asked if she would be allowed to stand for Labour. The Times reported party sources suggesting Labour will bar her from standing, prompting a wave of fresh criticism over the party’s handling of the case.
It follows another claim yesterday morning that the investigation that prompted her suspension had been wrapped up months ago, though Labour has also not responded to that allegation.
Train drivers’ union ASLEF today published a joint letter to Starmer from its general secretary Mick Whelan and the general secretaries of five other unions affiliated to Labour calling for Abbott to be confirmed as the candidate for Hackney North and Stoke Newington.
The letter is dated May 25th, prior to confirmation that the Labour whip had been restored to Abbott. Alongside Whelan, it has been signed by the TSSA’s Maryam Eslamdoust, Unite’s Sharon Graham, NUM’s Chris Kitchen, CWU’s Dave Ward and the FBU’s Matt Wrack.
VOTE HERE: Should Diane Abbott be allowed to stand again for Labour?
John McTernan, a former adviser to Tony Blair often supportive of Keir Starmer, said the briefing suggesting the first black female MP would not be able to restand was “disgraceful”.
Jess Barnard, a national executive committee member on the left of the party, called the situation a “farce”. Mirror associate editor Kevin Maguire said he hoped she could stand again.
Neal Lawson, director of cross-party campaign group Compass, said of reports she could be barred: “Even for those who don’t share her politics, it’s sad to see that the Labour’s so-called broad church is now so narrow it no longer has space for a figure like Diane Abbott.
“Meanwhile, it appears to have no qualms about welcoming in former Tories like Natalie Elphicke who clearly don’t share its values.”
Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting faced questions about whether the party had “stitched her up” on the BBC’s Today programme.
He said it was a decision for Labour’s national executive committee, and declined to say if he wanted her to remain as an MP.
But he added: “Keir Starmer when he talked about improving standards in the Labour party, he really meant it. I don’t know the specific factors that apply in Diane Abbott’s case. I was pleased actually that her suspension was lifted and the whip was restored.”
Pressed on the suggestion the investigation wrapped up months ago and why Labour figures had not disclosed this in recent broadcast interviews, he said he would not rely on “hearsay”.
What did Diane Abbott do to be suspended?
Abbott had the party whip suspended in April last year for suggesting in a letter to The Observer that Irish people, Jewish people and Travellers “are not all their lives subject to racism” as Black people are.
Abbott apologised and said she wished to “wholly and unreservedly withdraw” her remarks, which caused a significant backlash. A party spokesperson called the remarks “deeply offensive”.
But Abbott previously told LabourList that she suspected the party of using the disciplinary process to “bar me from standing at the next election”, despite her being selected by local members. “I wrote in September that my suspension was a factional manoeuvre aimed at silencing a Black woman on the left, a critic of the line of the current leadership. Nothing has substantially changed since.”
Backlash over threat to block Diane Abbott candidacy
By the Labour Outlook team
News on Tuesday night that Diane Abbott MP had had the Labour Whip restored by the party leadership was soured as party sources briefed journalists she would be blocked from standing as the candidate in Hackney North and Stoke Newington – the seat she has represented since 1987.
Attempts by party spokespersons on Wednesday’s media, including an interview with leader Keir Starmer and a media round by Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting to distance themselves from any such decision held little water.
Starmer reportedly told journalists, “No decision has been taken to bar Diane Abbott. The process that we were going through ended with the restoration of the whip. No decision has been made in terms of barring her.”
Yet senior sources told The Times within minutes of her having the whip restored, that she would not be a candidate.
Labour’s candidates are formally signed off at an NEC meeting on Tuesday 4th June.
It is this meeting that could choose not to endorse individual candidates such as Diane Abbott with the majority of NEC members prepared to act in accordance with the views of the Leader’s Office.
The threat of Diane Abbott not being selected has caused a backlash within the party and from key figures outside it which threaten to cause political splits during an election campaign, if not resolved.
As covered already on Labour Outlook, six trade unions affiliated to the party, including largest union Unite, have urged Keir Starmer to confirm Diane will be the candidate at the General Election.
Leading legal figure Martin Forde KC, who authored the Forde Report on behalf of Keir Starmer, said the way Diane Abbott’s situation has been handled is “utterly shambolic” and “deeply disturbing”
Shabna Begum, CEO of the Runnymede Trust, said, ‘The double standards in the treatment of Diane Abbott is abhorrent. Racism and misogynoir against Black women in the workplace is rife across society; our political class is no exception.’
Tony Blair’s former adviser, John McTernan, said the Diane Abbott investigation ‘designed to humiliate’ her and that, ‘Whoever is responsible for this should hang their head in shame.’
Independent journalist and race correspondent, Nadine White, wrote, “Labour’s poor treatment of Diane Abbott, Britain’s first Black woman MP, has further damaged the party’s relationship with Black voters.”
Guardian journalist Rachel Shabi said, ‘Labour’s treatment of Diane Abbott is an absolute disgrace. Rotten, bullying factionalism that shows us the party views racism purely as a game, a thing to be weaponised when politically convenient’
Sitting NEC member, Jess Barnard, said ‘for 5 months, Starmer has been sitting on Diane’s resolved case, running the clock down apparently with one aim – to push her out. Another case of political interference. What happened to that independent processes called for by the EHRC?’
Fellow NEC member, Mish Rahman, said,
‘Keir Starmer doesn’t care about Black and Muslim people.
He has one rule for white MPs like Steve Reed, Barry Sheerman and Neil Coyle and another for Black and Brown MPs – especially women as we see with treatment of
@HackneyAbbott’
Liverpool MP Kim Johnson and chair of the BAME caucus in the PLP said, “Solidarity with Diane, undeniably a trailblazer & a hero of our movement. At a time when all our energy should be focussed on throwing the Tories out, this process looks nakedly factional. Diane should have the whip restored now so she can stand as Labour’s candidate in the GE.”
Outgoing Labour MP Beth Winter said, ‘I am glad Diane Abbott has finally had the Labour Whip restored. The way she has been treated is vindictive, factional and cruel. She should be allowed to decide whether she will re-stand as a candidate.’
Left members organisation Momentum said in a statment, ‘Keir Starmer’s treatment of Diane Abbott has been appalling, vindictive & cruel. It is a slap in the face not just to Diane, but to the millions inspired by her as Britain’s first Black woman MP.’
- Supporters of Diane Abbott have called a community rally in support of Diane outside Hackney Town Hall in East London at 6.30pm, Wednesday 29th May. More info here.
Can Diane Abbott run for Labour? It really is up to Starmer
“This situation is insulting to both Diane Abbott and the membership of Hackney North CLP. The disciplinary procedures should not be used in a factional way.”
Labour Women Leading
By Labour Hub
Will Diane Abbott have the Labour whip restored to her to enable her to run as a Labour candidate in the Hackney seat she has held for the last 37 years? Keir Starmer has always insisted it is not a matter for him – she is subject to a wholly independent disciplinary process.
But today Newsnight presenter Victoria Derbyshire made a mockery of that claim. She tweeted: “I can reveal Labour’s investigation into suspended MP Diane Abbott’s racism comments finished five months ago.”
According to Derbyshire’s, source, the MP was given a “formal warning” in December 2023. She was required to do an online “antisemitism course” – which she did in February this year.
Yet the source says she still hasn’t been told if she can stand as a Labour candidate at the upcoming election. Derbyshire says she understands Diane Abbott is “angry, depressed and worn out” by the way she feels she’s been treated by Labour. Who can blame her?
This new revelation is of the highest significance. If the internal disciplinary process concluded with Diane Abbott meeting the conditions she was set and thus remaining a Labour member, responsibility would then be passed back to the Chief Whip who is appointed by and reports directly to Starmer.
If the Chief Whip has then dragged his heels, that is a breach of the requirement under the Parliamentary Labour Party standing orders that investigations must be completed within three months.
If the matter is therefore in the hands of the Chief Whip and Keir Starmer, then the latter has arguably not been entirely honest when he maintained it’s an independent process – the NEC investigation finished five months ago, and it has been in the leadership’s hands ever since.
Worse, while Diane Abbott was facing racist and sexist abuse from Frank Hester, Starmer made a show of support – yet all the while, the leadership was conspiring against her.
A Momentum spokesperson said: “This is outrageous news which confirms that the Starmer leadership is trying to force Britain’s first Black woman MP out of Parliament. For months we have been told by Keir Starmer that the process is independent and it’s nothing to do with him. Today’s revelation confirms this is another brazen lie from Keir Starmer – the investigation was concluded months ago, Diane remains a Labour member and the whip should already have been restored as a result. Starmer’s conduct has already been insulting and demeaning to a woman he rightly called a ‘trailblazer’. The first step to making amends is to restore the whip and let Diane run as the Labour candidate, as local members wish.”
Labour Women Leading said: “This situation is insulting to both Diane Abbott and the membership of Hackney North CLP. The disciplinary procedures should not be used in a factional way.”
Labour’s Former Executive Director of Policy and Research Andrew Fisher said: “The treatment of Diane Abbott – Britain’s first black woman MP – has been nothing short of disgraceful.”
A grassroots petition calling on Keir Starmer to restore the Parliamentary Labour Party whip to Diane Abbott has been signed by over 15,000 people. The petition can be signed here.
Before her suspension, all Hackney North and Stoke Newington Labour Party branches had voted overwhelmingly for Diane Abbott to remain their candidate. She won re-election on eight occasions since she first stood for office since becoming the first Black woman MPs in British history in 1987.
- Over 15,000 activists have signed a petition to Keir Starmer calling on him to restore the whip to Diane Abbott. Add your name here.
- This article was originally published by Labour Hub on 28 May 2024.
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