The Labour party has become embroiled in a political row following the fallout around veteran MP Diane Abbott’s readmission to the party – and lack of clarity over whether she can still stand for it.
After being suspended from Labour for just over a year, Ms Abbott was readmitted to the party in late May, once again becoming a Labour MP.
Ms Abbott has represented Hackney North and Stoke Newington since 1987, securing a majority of over 33,000 at the last general election.
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Labour has not confirmed who its candidate will be for the constituency, leading to fears from supporters of Ms Abbott that she may still be deselected, despite her readmission into the party.
It remains unclear whether Ms Abbott will be able to stand for the party. The veteran MP has said she’s barred from standing, a claim which Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has denied.
Here’s everything you need to know about how one of Labour’s longest serving MPs found herself at the centre of a political civil war:
What did Diane Abbott say?
Ms Abbott’s suspension came after she penned a controversial letter about racism for The Observer newspaper. In it, she criticises a journalist who wrote in the Guardian that Irish, Jewish and Traveller people can all experience racism.
The veteran MP argued that, while white people can experience prejudice, they do not experience racism. She suggests that the two words should not be used interchangeably.
“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,” she wrote.
“At the height of slavery, there were no white-seeming people manacled on the slave ships”.
What did Diane Abbott’s letter say?
“Racism is black and white”
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
Ms Abbott later apologised for the letter, withdrawing her remarks. On Twitter / X, she wrote: “The errors arose in an initial draft being sent. But there is no excuse, and I wish to apologise for any anguish caused.”
“Racism takes many forms and it is completely undeniable that Jewish people have suffered its monstrous effects, as have Irish people, Travellers and many others”.
How did Labour respond?
Labour moved quickly, suspending Ms Abbott from the party the same day that her letter was published: April 23, 2023. A party spokesperson called the comments “deeply offensive and wrong.”
They also confirmed that an investigation was underway.
Labour leader Keir Starmer said Ms Abbott’s suspension showed “how far the Labour party has changed,” adding that the party has “zero tolerance” of antisemitism.
Criticism also came from across the political spectrum. The board of Deputies of British Jews called Ms Abbott’s comments “disgraceful,” saying that her apology was “entirely unconvincing”.
Meanwhile, Momentum co-founder Jon Lansman, who is Jewish, called the MPs comments “disgraceful,” adding that “racism is not a competition”.
Ms Abbott was readmitted to the Labour party on May 28, 2024 – 401 days after her suspension. A lack of updates from the party led over this period to outcry from supporters of the long-standing London MP.
During the time that Ms Abbott was suspended, Labour MP Kate Osamor was both suspended and readmitted into the party over the course of three months.
Asked why the investigation was taking so long in March, Sir Keir told LBC radio: “There are aspects to process which take time. It needs to be resolved and that is an independent process – it’s not my process and I’m not going to interfere with it because I think that’s a slippery slope.”
“Every case is different, they’re looking at a resolution. It was a pretty offensive letter – this wasn’t just a casual remark”.
However, it was revealed in May that the investigation into Ms Abbott’s comments had concluded in December 2023, with the veteran MP was given a formal warning and required to complete an “antisemitism awareness course”.
Labour’s National Executive Committee (NEC) – the party’s governing body – emailed Ms Abbott informing her that their formal warning was for “engaging in conduct that was in the opinion of the NEC, prejudicial and grossly detrimental to the Labour Party”.
Ms Abbott completed the two-hour online e-learning course about antisemitism awareness in February, which was reportedly acknowledged by Labour’s chief whip at the time. It then took nearly four months for the MP to have the whip restored.
Can Diane Abbott still stand for the Labour party?
Following her readmission, Ms Abbott says she learned through the media that she would not be permitted to stand as a Labour MP.
“The national party is insisting that I be banned,” she said at a rally outside Hackney Town Hall.
“They haven’t given a reason for banning me. They just want me excluded from Parliament.
“I am so shocked. And so alarmed about what is going on. Because it is as if you are not allowed to be a Labour MP unless you’re prepared to repeat everything the leader says”.
However, Sir Keir has said it’s “not true” that Ms Abbott is barred from standing for Labour.
“No decision has been taken to bar Diane Abbott,” he said, adding: “the process that we were going through ended with the restoration of the whip … so she is a member of the parliamentary Labour party.”
Under Labour’s current candidate selection procedures, it is now the NEC who will directly select candidates in unfilled seats – meaning Ms Abbott’s fate is now in their hands.
She has cast doubt on being selected successfully, criticising their reported move to bar left-leaning Labour MPs Faiza Shaheen and Lloyd Russell-Moyle from standing.
The veteran MP has accussed Sir Keir of undertaking an “appalling cull of left-wingers”.
Ms Abbott has not responded to queries about whether she will stand as an independent MP.
