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Feminism: Sex and gender discussions

What’s going on with the Labour Party and Diane Abbott?

26 replies

LoeliaPonsonby · 07/08/2020 15:29

I can only see tweets from Diane but it looks like another case of Labour being exposed for the rank misogynistic organisation it has always been, with added racism thrown in for good measure. Unsurprisingly, neither the Beeb nor the Guardian are carrying anything on it. Does anyone have any good links?

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DuDuDuLangaLangaBingBong · 07/08/2020 15:31

There is this on Huffpost: www.google.co.uk/amp/s/m.huffingtonpost.co.uk/amp/entry/diane-abbott-labour-report-racism_uk_5f2d276ec5b6b9cff7f06803/

Nothing on the big U.K. sites yet

AskDan · 07/08/2020 15:51

I am not sure about all of this.

Diane Abbott has been the target of both sexist and racist behaviour and I find it absolutely believable the horrible things were said about her, as described in her tweet.

Looking at her Twitter feed, she is directing people to an article that points the blame of the labour losses at Labour Party HQ, that simply isnt right.

Jeremy Corbyn is the reason that Jeremy Corbyn lost, he is simply unelectable. He was totally out of touch with your average labour party voter.

DuDuDuLangaLangaBingBong · 07/08/2020 16:09

I support DA in wanting transparency and accountability re: discriminatory remarks allegedly made by party employees.

But Labour’s failures in the last GE were many, so blaming it all on Corbyn or all on Labour HQ are both overly simplistic. The manifesto changes on Brexit were a massive part of it (2017 manifesto was v.different) and the zealotry and influence of Young Labour/Student politics/IDpol is another. Failure to deal with in-party Anti Semitism adequately is yet another failure, as was the idiocy re: women’s rights.
Sure, you can wrap many of those up on Corbyn being an ineffectual leader but I don’t think any of the people he was up against in either of his leadership challenges would’ve won a GE either, mostly because of the Brexit issue.

The membership is no longer representative of the historical voting base. That’s labour’s biggest problem.

Thelnebriati · 07/08/2020 16:15

Thats not what the article is about. Dianne wants transparency and has asked for the report to be published, and since so many comments made by staffers were about her I think she has the right to ask for that information.

Voting Corbyn out has achieved nothing, he was just the figurehead for the movement that wrecked the party. Labour has so many issues right now it has made itself unelectable, at a time when we need the strongest opposition in power to challenge the Tories.

Packingsoapandwater · 07/08/2020 16:19

Crikey, I really don't know how Abbott has stood it for so long. I don't agree with her politics, but, my god, in the face of such deeply personal comments from members of her own party ... woah.

TeaAndStrumpets · 07/08/2020 18:10

Just read the article. Wow! Like a grubby stupid version of "The West Wing"

TeaAndStrumpets · 07/08/2020 18:15

While reading online about the current LP problems I saw Keir Starmer referred to as "The Brylcreem Messiah" Smile

boreda11 · 07/08/2020 18:33

My experience in the last century was that trade unions, main source of Labour Party policy and influence, were very male dominated and also in their attitudes. Perhaps it's not changed.

highame · 07/08/2020 19:07

I've read the links and think a lot of this is it wasn't our fault we lost the election.

xxyzz · 09/08/2020 05:39

Very disingenuous OP.

Of course Diane Abbott would like to blame people named in the leaked report for Labour losses, rather than her former lover Jeremy Corbyn, or herself, or the party's anti-Semitism problem, its inability to oppose Brexit, its factionalism, its incompetence etc.

The article gives zero examples of racism or sexism towards Diabe Abbott from those within Labour HQ. On the contrary, they are currently sueing the party for unauthorised theft of their personal messages and for stitching together a false and libellous narrative that took unconnected personal messages from months apart and pretended that these formed a racist or sexist narrative.

Now Diane Abbott has certainly faced plenty of actual racism and sexism in the past. But there is zero evidence that any of this has come from Labour HQ staffers.

This is just another attempt to pass the buck and twist the knife. And to undermine Keir Starner's fairly successful attempts to reposition Labour and regain support lost by Corbyn.

Shameful that Corbyn and his cronies can't shut up and let Labour actually provide some opposition to the Tories at this critical time with a second wave likely and Brexit approaching.

Also shameful that the resultant legal cases are likely to cost Labour a fortune long after Corbyn and co have headed to the back benches or beyond. What a horrific gift to the Labour party they profess to care so much about.

InfiniteSheldon · 09/08/2020 06:52

I find DA's version very hard to believe.

DidoLamenting · 09/08/2020 08:05

@xxyzz

Very disingenuous OP.

Of course Diane Abbott would like to blame people named in the leaked report for Labour losses, rather than her former lover Jeremy Corbyn, or herself, or the party's anti-Semitism problem, its inability to oppose Brexit, its factionalism, its incompetence etc.

The article gives zero examples of racism or sexism towards Diabe Abbott from those within Labour HQ. On the contrary, they are currently sueing the party for unauthorised theft of their personal messages and for stitching together a false and libellous narrative that took unconnected personal messages from months apart and pretended that these formed a racist or sexist narrative.

Now Diane Abbott has certainly faced plenty of actual racism and sexism in the past. But there is zero evidence that any of this has come from Labour HQ staffers.

This is just another attempt to pass the buck and twist the knife. And to undermine Keir Starner's fairly successful attempts to reposition Labour and regain support lost by Corbyn.

Shameful that Corbyn and his cronies can't shut up and let Labour actually provide some opposition to the Tories at this critical time with a second wave likely and Brexit approaching.

Also shameful that the resultant legal cases are likely to cost Labour a fortune long after Corbyn and co have headed to the back benches or beyond. What a horrific gift to the Labour party they profess to care so much about.

Excellent summary.
HPFA · 09/08/2020 08:21

The Labour Party can't just publish the whole report - it's already subject to legal action. The man Corbyn himself appointed to head the party's Legal and Governance Unit said that it was unfit for purpose. Even if it could somehow be "proved" that Labour HQ staff "lost" the 2017 election so what? A few staffers get the sack and then?

Corbynites are simply intent on destruction - if they can't control the party they would sooner it was destroyed. And whilst the Labour Party might not be a perfect institution a country without an electable opposition gets into a very bad place as we've seen in the last few years.

DidoLamenting · 09/08/2020 08:31

Article in yesterday's Times.

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/74f06780-d8ed-11ea-a099-b011877a86c1?shareToken

DidoLamenting · 09/08/2020 08:50

Dates from the defeat at Copeland but still holds true.

What’s going on with the Labour Party and Diane Abbott?
Siablue · 09/08/2020 08:59

I honestly don’t know what to make of this. Yes Dianne Abbott has been subjected to racism and sexism but I don’t think that there was any chance of Jeremy Corbyn winning the general election.

DidoLamenting · 09/08/2020 09:08

Good article here too.

www.independent.co.uk/voices/jeremy-corbyn-general-election-2017-blairites-labour-party-staff-sabotage-a9660946.html

honestly don’t know what to make of this

It's not difficult. Corbyn is a very stupid, bitter , sore loser with an ego the size of a planet. He has no grip of reality but being proved right , even when he is utterly and demonstrably wrong , is more important than stopping to think about how much damage he caused and continues to cause.

LockdownLump · 09/08/2020 09:16

My experience in the last century was that trade unions, main source of Labour Party policy and influence, were very male dominated and also in their attitudes. Perhaps it's not changed

It really, really hasn't.

Please read up on Tim Roache.

Not sure about other trade unions, but the one I work for, the sexism is absolutely woven through its' seams.

It oozes sexism to its core and I despise myself for working there sometimes, but the pay is very good, plus all the other perks.

Golden handcuffs.

GennyCrabby · 09/08/2020 09:23

Weird. I thought it was widely known that Dianne Abbott got daily sexism and racism from both within and without her party.

She must be a very strong lady to have voped with that and still be going. I know is have crumbled by now.

DidoLamenting · 09/08/2020 09:33

The current issues with the Labour Party have nothing to do with sexism or personal attacks on Diane Abbot.

Gwynfluff · 09/08/2020 10:30

I was just having a browse through the figures for U.K. female MP percentages, while musing about how male dominated politics was at national level. From 1945 to 1997 - female MPs were less than 5% of the total. It got to 10% in 1997 when Labour won under Blair and infamous ‘Blair Babes’ and is now at 29%.

A stark reminder that we are still way off equal representation in parliament.

That said, I agree the Labour defeat in 2019 was imposed soundly by the electorate. Some officials are claiming that the accusations are wrong and that the Corbyn Team wanted to concentrate on the safe seats and not the marginals. Though that didn’t work out well as a strategy.

DuDuDuLangaLangaBingBong · 09/08/2020 10:47

@GennyCrabby

Weird. I thought it was widely known that Dianne Abbott got daily sexism and racism from both within and without her party.

She must be a very strong lady to have voped with that and still be going. I know is have crumbled by now.

This are comments allegedly made by party employees though - not just random members or people on the internet or other people elected to their position.
LoeliaPonsonby · 09/08/2020 10:53

I have never voted Labour, nor do I see myself voting Labour in the future. I also don’t particularly rate Diane Abbott. However I just don’t see how I can take the Labour Party seriously when it takes about any kind of social justice when one of its senior politicians is treated in such a fashion? Did Theresa May have to put up with that? Or does Pritchard Patel have to deal with comments like that from her own party?

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LoeliaPonsonby · 09/08/2020 10:54

Urgh. I meant “talks about social justice issues” above. Instead I wrote an incoherent mess - sorry!

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