Hmm. Diane Abbott is still being criticised for getting her maths wrong....

[BertrandRussell]

....let’s hope people are as unforgiving of this

I haven’t been a fan for years after hearing on the radiogram (yes it was ages ago). Didn’t know she was black then.

Who is that Theodora Dickinson... thinking that under Labour someone earning £80k would only take home £2k. That has to be a fake/parody account surely? No-one can be that dense in real life.
But otherwise yes, I’ll be taking my chance with Diane Abbott and Labour over the lying Tories thank you very much

I feel sorry for Diane Abbott, she gets far more stick than she deserves. And yes I believe it's because she's an older black woman. It's irrelevant whether I agree with her politics or not, the point is she's treated very badly by the press and media.

Seawitchly not a parody Just an idiot who doesn't understand how taxation works .

If it helps, when I saw this interview, I laughed and thought when it came to the numbers part: "She's as much of an idiot as Diane Abbot is". And the majority of the rest of them, for that matter.

I admire DA for having made it to Cambridge; not many working class WOC her generation were able to achieve that. I admire her for being the first WOC to be elected to parliament, dominated as it was and is by white men. And her constituents have seemed largely happy with her for over 30 years, albeit it’s a very safe seat, and it would be interesting to see how she fared in a swing seat (this test should also apply to JC and BJ!).

I don’t admire her for some of her more unwise comments (it gets repeated over and over, but then again, the “West Indian mums go to the wall” and “white people love to play divide and rule” comments are quite memorable coming from an MP; I don’t think she deserves the pillorying that she got and gets, but I also think it shows a lack of judgment and common sense that would be worrying in a Home Secretary). I don’t think she comes across as competent or impressive enough for a role in the Cabinet, and I think she’d always struggle with that.

It’s a shame that the silly things she’s said have drowned out a lot of her achievements and I absolutely do think that says a lot about racism and sexism on the part of some people and the press . But I also think that she’s not capable of being HS and that it’s only a possibility because JC wants her there (and if DA isn’t capable of being HS, he is 100 times less capable of being PM!).

I think the opprobrium Abbot gets says a lot about how we as a country feel about black people in positions of power. Fine so long as they are just like different coloured white people......

Nail, head, Bertrand.

I disagree on that. Diane Abbott (along with many other politicians) has really shown herself up when I've heard her on the radio. I have never thought that she sounded intelligent or thoughtful. I'm sure she's a great constituency MP and does what she can there, but when it comes to policy she's appalling.

Im very quick to pick up on subliminal racism but lets get something clear Diane Abbot is awful. Nothing to do with being a black female, she is appalling.
She got herself into the worse mess on lbc, she wants to abolish private schools i.e. pull up the ladder following her son going to one, and some of the things she has said about white people are just abhorrent.

I don’t think she comes across as competent or impressive enough for a role in the Cabinet, and I think she’d always struggle with that

TBF I feel the same way about several prominent politicians, both Labour and Conservative, but the thread's about Abbott and I agree she just wouldn't cut it in a goverment cabinet

I don't even think it would be fair on her to put her in a position so clearly beyond her capabilities, so it's probably just as well that it seems unlikely to happen

“ I don’t think she comes across as competent or impressive enough for a role in the Cabinet, and I think she’d always struggle with that”

Not being either competent or impressive doesn’t seem to hold white men back at all......

Dianne Abbot was put on the spot and tried to bullshit her way out of it. If she’d said ‘i don’t have to figures to hand but I’m happy to make them available’ it would have worked better.

“ Dianne Abbot was put on the spot and tried to bullshit her way out of it.“
I agree. The point is that I could list you 20 other politicians who have done the same, including the Prime Minister, and it hasn’t followed them round for the next 5 years.

I completely agree that there have been no barriers to white men getting the roles, however sleazy and incompetent and dishonest some of them may have been or be.

I am in despair at this election and the “choices”, I really am.

I also remember reading some of the tweets that have been sent to DA. Absolutely disgusting. There is no question that she gets a harder time than most, and I do agree it’s because she’s a black woman.

I don’t want her within shouting distance of the Cabinet, but there is absolutely no way she should be subjected to some of the things she’s had said to her.

Trust me, her skin colour is irrelevant. She's as thick as mince, mind.

@MrsMaiselsMuff people make fun of DA not because she is black. That's ridiculous. She isn't doing a good job period. Can't add up, doesn't know what's going on and she keeps giving interviews and getting facts wrong.
Doesn't inspire confidence at all.

How does her alleged thickness manifest itself? I think she has an unfortunate voice and manner and doesn’t come across ver well on the media, but to describe someone with her career as “thick” seems a bit thick, frankly.

But it’s not ridiculous to say they make fun of her because she’s black.

Look at the stats. She gets almost 50% of the abuse aimed at all female politicians, and some of that abuse is sickening. It’s because she’s more visible and she attracts more bile from a certain type of bigot. And why is she more visible, and what type of bigot?!

As Bertrand says, she really doesn’t help herself with her manner etc, but I do think it’s naive to assume that her race has nothing to do with the abuse she faces.

Here are some stats and some examples of what she faces. Not for the faint hearted, sadly:

www.newstatesman.com/2017/09/we-tracked-25688-abusive-tweets-sent-women-mps-half-were-directed-diane-abbott

the abuse female mps get is disgusting- non-white female mps 1000x worse....this is a true statement,
another true statement is Diane Abbott is not fit for her role and is an embarrassment to her party.

This is a true statement
the abuse female mps get is disgusting- non-white female mps 1000x worse....this is a true statement

This is opinion
another true statement is Diane Abbott is not fit for her role and is an embarrassment to her party.

“ another true statement is Diane Abbott is not fit for her role and is an embarrassment to her party.”
The thing about true statements is that they can be backed up with evidence.....

In a world in which people are massively unconcerned about The Boris Johnson Act, Patel, Gove and the god of chaos himself Grayling being allowed to run the country, people are saying the're worried about Abbott?

If her race is irrelevent, why does she get so many times the abuse of others? some morons blacked up and dressed as her at the darts, do you think that would happen otherwise?