‘It is obvious this Labour leadership wants me out.’
Keir Starmer has suspended Diane Abbott, the longest-serving female MP, for a second time after she repeated comments about racism she was previously suspended for.
In a BBC Radio 4 interview with James Naughtie, which was recorded in May but released yesterday, she said: “Clearly there must be a difference between racism which is about colour and other types of racism”.
She said that this is because you can’t immediately see if a person is a Traveller or is Jewish.
On the other hand, she said this isn’t the case for a black person. She stated: “If you see a black person walking down the street you see straight away that they’re black.”
In April 2023, Abbott made similar comments in a letter to the Observer, which ultimately wound up in her being suspended after Starmer called them “antisemitic”.
She then had the whip restored in May 2024, ahead of the general election.
In the letter, she said: “Irish, Jewish and Traveller people undoubtedly experience prejudice. This is similar to racism. 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.”
Asked if she regretted the whole “hoo-ha” two years ago, she said “No, not at all”.
She defended her comments from 2023, saying “I just think that it’s silly to try and claim that racism which is about skin colour is the same as other types of racism.”
The MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington said she condemns antisemitism, but gets “a bit weary” of being labelled antisemitic. She said she has spent her whole life fighting racism, particularly antisemitism, given the large Jewish population in her constituency.
Abbott will now sit as an Independent MP while the Labour Party carries out an investigation.
Responding to her suspension, Abbott said: “It is obvious this Labour leadership wants me out.
“My comments in the interview with James Naughtie were factually correct, as any fair-minded person would accept,” she said.
Labour peer Baroness Shami Chakrabarti said on the BBC: “People who are writing island of strangers speeches should be a bit slow to sit in judgement on Diane Abbott who has been fighting racism all her life.”
Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward
Starmer slammed for Abbott re-suspension – Sam Browse
Labour Outlook’s Sam Browse reports on the opposition to Diane Abbott’s suspension
This week, Starmer has faced widespread opposition for the suspension of Diane Abbott after comments she made to BBC Radio 4. In clarifying remarks for which she was suspended in 2023-24, she set out her own experience of racism and differentiated between that which is directed at people of colour, and experienced by the Jewish and Traveller communities. You can listen to the full interview segment here.
Since making the comments, the Labour Party has re-suspended Abbott as thousands have signed a renewed We stand with Diane Abbott petition.
Public figures from across the labour and trade union movement have strongly condemned the move, not least because the previous action against her was widely opposed as indicative of the different standard to which black women are held in Labour Party disciplinary procedures.
Speaking herself of the resuspension, Abbott said ‘it is obvious this Labour leadership wants me out’.
MPs took to social media to condemn the disciplinary action. John McDonnell said –
Bell Ribeiro-Addy emphasised her solidarity –
Apsana Begum highlighted Abbott’s importance in supporting colleagues on the Westminster benches –
And other MPs such as Richard Burgon and Ian Byrne restated their solidarity with Abbott and emphasised her importance in the struggle against racism –
Pointing to the hypocrisy of Abbott’s critics, the Labour peer, lawyer and human rights activist, Shami Chakrabarti, said that “people who are writing ‘island of strangers’ speeches should be a bit slow to sit in judgment on Diane Abbott, who has been fighting racism all her life.”
From outside the Labour benches, independent MPs such as Adnan Hussain were strident in their support –
Zarah Sultana similarly pointed to the hypocrisy and the findings of the Forde report, which found a hierarchy of racism in the Labour Party –
Beyond parliament, the campaign group, Stand Up to Racism, were similarly clear –
Lambeth councillor and activist, Martin Abrams – who has himself been blocked from restanding as a Labour candidate for his support of the Palestinians – argued –
And even John McTernan, a former advisor to Blair, said –
Unusually, we agree with McTernan: hands off Diane Abbott; reinstate the whip now!
- Sam Browse is an organiser for Arise Festival and a regular contributor to Labour Outlook. You can follow him on Twitter/X here.
- Sign the We stand with Diane Abbott petition here.
- If you support Labour Outlook’s work amplifying the voices of left movements and struggles here and internationally, please consider becoming a supporter on Patreon.
