Labour descends into chaos over botched suspension of Diane Abbott

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Labour’s election campaign descended into chaos as Diane Abbott’s future threatened to overshadow the party’s major announcements on health and economic issues.

The future of the pioneering MP for Hackney North, who was the first black woman elected to Parliament, was thrown into uncertainty when she announced that she had been barred from running again despite the restoration of party discipline after months of suspension.

But hours later, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer insisted that Ms Abbott had been “not prevented” from standing as a candidate, while trying to promote Labour’s policy of reducing NHS waiting lists.

His comments came as unions demanded that Mrs Abbott, who was arrested for writing a letter to The Observer The proposal to ostracize Jews and travelers, who did not suffer from racism in the same way as people with dark skin, should be put to a vote again.

In the wake of the row, friends of Ms Abbott and political opponents questioned Sir Keir’s honesty after he claimed just last Friday that the investigation into her was still ongoing, when in fact it was completed in December.

In addition, it was suggested that Ms Abbott had been in talks with the Labour Party leader, who reports to Sir Keir, about her resignation following the leader’s restoration, before party sources made the claims on Tuesday evening that she had been denied the candidacy.

The affair descended into farce later in the day when Shadow Chief Secretary Darren Jones had to insist that he had not called an “emergency press conference” on the Tories’ spending plans “to distract from the row over Diane Abbott”.

He said the “emergency press conference” highlighting what he said was a £71 billion black hole in the Tories’ spending promises had been “planned for yesterday”.

At a rally outside Hackney Town Hall on Wednesday evening, Ms Abbott told supporters she would remain MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington “for as long as it is possible”.

The growing anger over the situation was reflected in a statement from Ms Abbott’s friend Jacqueline McKenzie, who works as an immigration lawyer at Leigh Day. She told Radio 4: Today program that the tasteless affair had left serious doubts about Sir Keir.

She said: “I think Diane is really shocked. She has been for a long time because this investigation has been going on for 13 months.

“I think people close to her were quite surprised yesterday when they learned that the investigation was closed in September. I’m not sure if she knew the investigation had been closed, but I certainly saw a certain amount of surprise in some of the comments she made.

“But I think the really astonishing thing about all of this was the fact that just this week Keir Starmer, the leader of the Labour Party, and senior politicians said the investigation was still ongoing.

“I think it’s really their duty to explain whether they were honest in this process. I think that’s what’s really shocking.”

She added that Ms Abbott “would like to have the opportunity to make the decision” whether to stand, stressing that as Britain’s first black female MP she was “a hugely important figure”.

Ms McKenzie said the claims that she was anti-Semitic were “utter nonsense” and that she was “sincerely sorry” for the offensive letter she had written.

However, the Labour leader stressed that no decision had yet been made on whether Mrs Abbott – who was elected to Parliament in 1987 – would be allowed to defend her seat.

In April 2023, she was stripped of her Labour parliamentary seat pending investigations after she suggested that Jews, Irish and Travellers faced prejudice but not racism.

On Tuesday, confidence was restored within the party, but Ms Abbott appeared to believe she had been banned from standing for her Hackney North and Stoke Newington seat on July 4.

“I am very dismayed that numerous reports suggest that I have been disqualified as a candidate,” she said.

Sir Keir told reporters in Worcester it was “not true” that Ms Abbott had been excluded.

“No decision has been made to exclude Diane Abbott,” he said.

“The process we went through ended recently with the restoration of group confidence. So she is a member of the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) and no decision has been made to exclude her from that.”

The decision on whether she can stand will ultimately be made by the ruling National Executive Committee (NEC) of the Labour Party.

Independent MP Lord Woolley of Woodford, founder of the Operation Black Vote campaign, said Labour risked “dealing a slap in the face to Britain’s African and Caribbean communities” with the dispute.

He told BBC Radio 4 World in harmony Programme: “I would say this is a really big moment for the Labour Party, for Diane and for the black community in Britain and I think they have about 48 hours to get this right.”

He added: “I think they not only risk disrespecting one of the most popular MPs in modern times but – if they get it wrong in a disrespectful way – it would be a slap in the face to the UK’s African and Caribbean communities.”

Six Labour-affiliated unions – Aslef, TSSA, Unite, NUM, CWU and FBU – called for Ms Abbott to be allowed to stand.

Former Labour frontbencher Jess Phillips told Times Radio: “I think Diane should be allowed to stand. And I think the delay was not pleasant. The whole thing was not pleasant.”

Ms Abbott said she was “delighted that her leadership of the Labour Party has been reinstated and that she is now a member of the PLP”.

She indicated that she would not follow her ally Jeremy Corbyn and would run as an independent: “I will campaign for a Labour victory.”

Former Labour leader Corbyn will launch his own campaign against his former party in Islington North later on Wednesday.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the Labour Party must be “transparent” about Ms Abbott’s position, while Tory leader Richard Holden demanded answers about the matter in a letter to Sir Keir.