Diane Abbott to be banned from standing for Labour

[IwantToRetire]

... Diane Abbott will not be allowed to stand as a Labour candidate in the forthcoming general election, in a move that is likely to end her 37-year career in parliament.

The MP for Hackney North & Stoke Newington — the first black woman elected to parliament — has been suspended from the party since April last year and the Labour leadership has concluded that there are no circumstances in which she will stand under its banner on July 4.

An announcement of the party’s position could come as early as today. There are discussions among senior aides to Sir Keir Starmer about restoring her to the Labour whip before the election to allow her to leave politics “with dignity”.

Last week the Labour leader promised a resolution to the case before June 4, his party’s deadline for candidate selection, which falls three days before the legal close of nominations.

On Tuesday morning the BBC reported that the party’s internal investigation into a letter by Abbott to The Observer, in which she likened the discrimination suffered by Jewish people, the Irish and Travellers to the bullying of redheads, had concluded six months ago, without any update on her status as an election candidate.
Abbott, 70, is said to have been issued with a formal warning by the party and was told to complete an “antisemitism awareness course”. She did so in February, having apologised publicly and withdrawn her remarks.

Sources close to the left-wing MP told the BBC that Labour leadership was deliberately “dragging out the process in order to block her from being a candidate at the election”. It is understood that the decision to exclude her is final and will not change even in the event she issues a further apology. ...

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/diane-abbott-mp-labour-general-election-2024-fvgnbprdm

(If this is true, irrespective of the rights and wrongs, that Labour should use such underhand tactics is just disgusting. In other words they could have told her this in February. Can only imagine how they will behave once in Government.)

Can also be read at https://archive.ph/orgiJ

I know there have been other threads but MNHQ search is useless and even searching by google didn't bring them up, except this one which I seem to have started. https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/5029371-rally-of-support-for-diane-abbot-in-hackney-called-by-hackney-black-women

@Littlepinkstarsbyradish, As a good looking, white American, anglo-saxon Protestant, Regan never considered discrimination important. Until it was against B-list actors, at which point it was outrageous. Once it was a against a group he was not in, it was fine again.
I think Diane Abbott is similar, except as a black, working class woman, she has faced lots of discrimination and ends up on the left rather than the right.

Incidentally, the trope that black people cannot be racist is one that seems to be cited more than exist. It is like when Covid-conspiracy people claim no-one acknowledges side effects now matter how much they are acknowledged. Indeed, when it does seem to be used, it is when claim Suella Braverman nor Priti Patel can be racist against black Africans or Muslims.

My ex's friend witnessed West Indian-African hostility. She was out shopping with a Nigerian male friend - they were about to pull into a parking space when another car screeched in, nearly hitting them.

The Nigerian got out and remonstrated with the driver - another black man - who started shouting words to the effect "Fuck off African - go back home!".

The Nigerian told him to get out of the car and fight but the other just stayed in his car shouting abuse. In the end the Nigerian said "Why am I wasting my time with you? My grandfather sold yours for a pouch of tobacco".

Boom! Headshot.

As An Irish person I thought her letter was quite unexceptional. There are certainly bigots who are prejudiced against us and against Jewish people. But it is much easier to discriminate against those who look quite different to white Europeans. This is merely a statement of the bleeding obvious.

Having said that I've never been a big fan, though I lived in her seat for 5 years. I didn't attend a private school and neither did my kids. As Kenan Malik says Class is the axis of inequality. The elephant in the room . But Labour have treated her shabbily. They could have told her in February. I suspect they were terrified she'd run as an Independent.

It would be weird if they lost safe seats in Islington and Hackney. They'll just have to grovel a bit harder out in Tory shires I suppose. 50 ways to lose your voter.

Just now racism against Jews in the UK is at a height because of the war in Gaza. I support a separate Palestinian state (unlike Hamas) but I have just viewed Screams Before Silence, which is a harrowing film about what happened to women on 7th Oct in Israel. Abbott's 'mistake' was to assume that racism against black people (something I have not come across for over 20 years, but I certainly remember racism against Indian and mixed race people) was worse than anything experienced by e.g. Jews, Irish travellers etc. Publicising this view, particularly in reference to Jews, was not the act of an astute politician in a Europe that is full of holocaust deniers. I would not want her for my MP however good she is at constituency level, because I do not think she would treat me impartially - I fear that I might be the colour.

I was a teacher. I have heard black school children say that they cannot be racist because they are black, whilst making a racist comment or accusing a white teacher of being racist for e.g. telling them to get on with their work (on a computer) and not surf the internet.

My understanding is that she has poorly controlled diabetes. Which can affect cognitive function. But I could not tell you where I heard it.

@Grammarnut, thank you.
I had not been in your position so it is interesting to learn that it is something people actually argue. It is clearly absurd.
I confess, I am a little surprised to hear that you have never encountered anti-black racism. It does illustrate how we can be in our own bubbles. As I mentioned, anti-Jewish racism was something I had not really encountered in the UK, other that examples similar to the one you cite. It shows perhaps that we can all be caught up in our own bubbles.

It was widely reported in the press at the time.

From The

I'm so fed up, as a voter, of seeing abuse of process rather than straight forward addressing of issues. It is underhand, it is cowardly and it gives me little faith in the party's adherence to democracy.

I have limited sympathy for Diane Abbott, I think her use of critical race theory is divisive and her letter at best unwise in a Labour party still tackling antisemitism. That said, Labour either should have dealt with it swiftly and removed her from the party so she could choose to stand as an independent, or they should have dropped it.

This manipulation and politicking instead is appalling on a personal level, and contemptuous of the voters.

TempestTost· Today 10:45

wellington77 · Yesterday 23:18
A lot of people on here has said that Diane Abbott is Ill or seems Ill. What have people heard is actually wrong? I haven’t heard this before.

My understanding is that she has poorly controlled diabetes. Which can affect cognitive function. But I could not tell you where I heard it.

Probably unsubstantiated gossip on Mumsnet.

That article is from seven years ago. Her diabetes may or may not be relevant but you can’t use information from seven years ago as definitive evidence of the state of play today.

And I wasn't. I was giving @TempestTost the story that was in the press as she wasn't sure where she'd heard it.

I hope that's OK with you?

... and also to prove that it wasn't unsubstantiated gossip on Mumsnet.

FFS

IMO it's just another way to patronise and undermine Diane Abbott. See also calling women hysterical etc etc

Thanks for this as this is why I wanted to discuss this. I am not a DA fan, but think her treatment is appalling and dont understand why some commentators aren't concerned how the Party that is likely to be the next Government can act like this.

And in fact the hypocrasy because when something similar was happening to GC women, quite rightly, many posted on FWR about how underhand it was.

How many of us would not feel picked on and effectively suffered constructive dismissal if in our place of work a complaint was made against us, an investigation took place, you agreed to apologise and undertake training. And then months drift by and you dont know what is happening and then rumours start that you are going to be sacked.

And the double standards are often in evidence on any thread on FWR when her name comes up.

Some posters descend into irrelevant and out of place personal comments about her. I dont think this happens to any other woman who figures in a FWR.

Also, and I did post about this, this needless speculation because someone happened to see her hands trembling.

Does it not occur to any of you that she has feelings. This is a hugely emotional time for her.

Being disrespected by the party she has devoted decades of her life to, and very publicly going through what amounts to constructive dismissal.

Yes she was emotional, yes her hand were shaking. Do any of you think you could have just stood there and been 100% cool calm and collected?

I dont know which is worse, trying to avoid addressing the issue of Labour party deceiptful machinations by implying well she is unwell anyway, or that as some Black women had spoken about, the idea that Black women dont have or aren't entitled to have emotions.

Something that many people seem unaware of is that someone can be both black and Jewish.

I got talking to a "visibly Jewish" man years ago. He was also black. I had other Jewish friends but they were all secular. He was religious. He told me once he'd experienced more antisemitic racism than anti-black racism. Oviously neither is acceptable in any way and that's just one person's experience.

It is, however, rather shocking imo to see attempts by some to downplay or dismiss racism towards Jewish people and Travellers (from what I understand Travellers experience huge amounts of prejudice directly against them).

Who has said, or where has it been implied that black women aren’t entitled to express emotion? Diane Abbott is as hard as they come. She is strong, and has stood upto a lot over the decades with not an ounce of nerves or emotion. I don’t think for a minute her trembling was due to emotion. I don’t think she has any feelings of loyalty to the current Labour party, but of course wants to represent the constituency she has had control of over the years. I really don’t think she’s very well, and is a shadow of her former self. Still has the passion she has always had, but her light doesn’t burn as bright as it used to.

@whatab , Have people been suggesting that travellers do not experience discrimination? I had missed that.

Diane Abbot said racism against travellers doesn't exist in the same way as against Black people, I believe. She said they suffer discrimination. Thats why she was suspended.

She wrote the letter, presumably read it back to herself and didn't think "maybe I should acknowledge somewhere that Jews and Travellers were murdered in their millions for their race when I talk about the forms of racism they "didn't" suffer".

The people claiming "she didn't say anything wrong" are either in bad faith or genuinely don't understand inference.

And let's not talk about her claims that Russia is not the aggressor in Ukraine, or setting up a pro-Serbian support group in the 90s alongside Alfred Sherman - an advisor to Serbian war criminals, a man who considered Margaret Thatcher a bit too left wing and who had this to say in 1974;

As for the lumpen proletariat, coloured people and the Irish, let's face it, the only way to hold them in check is to have enough well-armed and properly trained police."

I think you can when it concerns a chronic medical.condition. Diabetes does not go away in 7 years, especially poorly controlled diabetes. It just gets worse and worse, and poorly controlled diabetes does affect cognitive function.

Yes she was emotional, yes her hand were shaking. Do any of you think you could have just stood there and been 100% cool calm and collected?

She had to be supported by two people to stay upright. And a woman who's been fighting at the sharp end of politics for the last four decades doesn't get all trembly at the actions of a bully boy Labour staffer.

From what I understand the leadership wanted her to stand down with a peerage and thought she had agreed - either someone in the LOTO team wanted to scupper that through malice (they should be identified and fired if so) or it was scuppered by Diane's team to make trouble for Starmer.

And can we please remember this very nasty jibe flung at Keir Starmer for no particular reason? No point of principle involved here.

https://www.reddit.com/r/ukpolitics/comments/118w3gt/diane_abbott_on_twitter_keir_starmer_now_saying/

Ah, sorry, I thought it was a reference to posters on the thread. My mistake.

From The Observer, 23 April 2023

Tomiwa Owolade claims that Irish, Jewish and Traveller people all suffer from “racism” (“Racism in Britain is not a black and white issue. It’s far more complicated”, Comment). 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.

In pre-civil rights America, Irish people, Jewish people and Travellers were not required to sit at the back of the bus. In apartheid South Africa, these groups were allowed to vote. And at the height of slavery, there were no white-seeming people manacled on the slave ships.
Diane Abbott
^House of Commons, London SW1^

She does seem to rely on her own definitions of things. It does seem to reflect a common flaw, that things that affect her personally hit her harder and are therefore more serious.