Diane Abbott backed by Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar as row grows

31 May 2024 , 08:55

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Diane Abbott has vowed to fight on after a row broke out on whether she can stand for :Labour at the General Election (Image: Getty Images)

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar has piled pressure on Keir Starmer to allow Diane Abbott to be able to stand for the party.

He backed Angela Rayner after she fired a warning shot by publicly declaring that she couldn’t see "any reason" why she shouldn’t be allowed to be a candidate. Ms Abbott was suspended from Labour last year after she suggested Jewish, Irish and Traveller people experience prejudice, but not racism.

The veteran, who was the first Black woman elected to Parliament, has been the MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington since 1987. Appearing on BBC Breakfast, Mr Sarwar said: “I would agree with Angela that Diane Abbott is someone who is an historic figure in our party, a trailblazer and someone who has a record of service for our party and our communities.”

Keir Starmer appeared at odds with Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar, right, over Diane Abbott (PA)

But Keir Starmer is still refusing to say if he wants her to stand again for his party. Speaking to BBC Radio Scotland, the Labour leader refused to be drawn on the issue, but praised her as a "trailblazer". "Diane Abbott has had the whip returned to her, no decision has been taken to bar her from standing and the NEC will come to a decision in due course," he said.

Asked if he would like her to be a candidate, Mr Starmer added: "Ultimately, that will be a matter for the NEC but no decision has been taken." At an event alongside both Ms Rayner and Mr Sarwar in Inverclyde, the Labour leader said that no decision has been made yet when asked whether he agreed with them about Ms Abbott.

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He said: "No decision has been taken. So that's the factual position. No decision to bar Diane. Obviously she's got the whip back and she's been a trailblazer for many years, but the fact remains no decision has been taken."

He stressed that Labour has "fantastic candidates across the country, including many Black candidates" after criticism from Martin Forde KC, a prominent Black lawyer, who conducted a probe into anti-Black racism in Labour ranks. Mr Forde told the Guardian that the party was "underestimating" the impact its treatment of Ms Abbott was having on voters, and that the row was leaving some black voters without a "political home".

In a major intervention, Ms Rayner told ITV on Thursday: "I don't see any reason why Diane Abbott can't stand as a Labour MP going forward. I am saying that as deputy leader of the Labour Party."

The Deputy Labour leader also hit out at negative briefings against Ms Abbott - the first Black woman to be elected to Parliament in 1987 - in recent days. The Labour deputy leader said: "I don't think that is how we should conduct ourselves."

At a rally outside Hackney Town Hall in her constituency, Ms Abbott vowed to fight on in a defiant speech. She told the crowd: "You have always stood with me in good times and bad and I will always stand with you. So I promise you that as long as it is possible, I will be the Member of Parliament for Hackney North and Stoke Newington."

John Stevens