The MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington issued a statement today saying she had been given back the Labour whip after a months-long investigation into her conduct, but would not be allowed to stand as a Labour candidate again.
According to the BBC, Diane Abbott said:
Although the whip has been restored, I am banned for standing as a Labour candidate.
Former shadow Home Secretary Abbott is the first black woman elected to Parliament. She was suspended in April 2023 for remarks in which she said Jews, Irish and Travellers had not faced racism “all their lives.”
She later apologised and retracted her remarks in a letter to the Observer newspaper.
However, she was expelled from the party in April 2023. The Labour Party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) issued her with a “formal warning for conduct which the NEC believes is damaging to the Labour Party.” As a result, she became an independent MP while an internal enquiry into her remarks was underway.
Politicians’ comments
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said the enquiry was ongoing, but it was revealed this week that it ended in December.
Abbott must now decide whether she will stand as an independent MP or end her parliamentary career.
Speaking to The Voice Kingsley Abrams, former National Secretary of Black Sections and General Secretary of Momentum Black Caucus said:
I am appalled by the way Diane Abbott MP has been treated by the Labour Party Leadership. In truth, it is nothing short of disgraceful. The Party Leadership has serious questions to answer about their abject failure to treat Diane fairly and respectfully. Let’s be clear. The number of Black MPs and PPCs that we have in the Party today exists because of the Diane and her colleagues Keith Vaz, Paul Boateng and the late Bernie Grant, who led the charge and knock down walls, as part of the Black Sections campaign.
He also added:
Diane is a trailblazer and deserves respect. Diane should be allowed to stand as the Labour parliamentary candidate on the 4th July. Diane’s constituents want her to stand. Diane was democratically re-selected by her local Party members, and the Black community is 100% behind her. The trust in the Party has already been damaged. If the NEC blocks Diane, that breakdown in trust will be irreparable.
