Diane Abbott, Britain’s first Black woman lawmaker, expressed her dismay today at reports suggesting that the opposition Labour Party intends to bar her as an election candidate due to comments she made about Jews and racism over a year ago.
Abbott, 70, is Britain’s longest-serving Black member of parliament. First elected in 1987, she has been a prominent figure on Labour’s left wing, advocating on issues such as racism, poverty, and international affairs.
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Abbott, who has endured online racist and sexist abuse, was suspended last year over a letter to a newspaper discussing Jewish people and racism. In her statement she said, “They undoubtedly experience prejudice. This is similar to racism and the two words are often used as if they are interchangeable,” she wrote. “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 issued an “unreserved” apology at the time for her comments.
Though she claimed to have been reinstated, the Times newspaper reported that she would be barred from running in her northeast London district in the upcoming parliamentary election on July 4.
“I am very dismayed that numerous reports suggest I have been barred as a candidate,” Abbott said on X. As a pioneering figure for Black women politicians, her potential exclusion has sparked significant attention.
Labour leader Keir Starmer stated that no final decision had been made regarding her candidacy. Starmer has aimed to address allegations of antisemitism within the party and distance it from its left-wing elements following accusations of discrimination against Jews under his predecessor, Jeremy Corbyn.
Abbott, a close ally of Corbyn, who led the party from 2015 to 2020, has also been barred from running for Labour and will stand as an independent candidate. Labour, which leads in opinion polls, has shifted towards the center under Starmer, alienating some left-leaning voters. Barring Abbott could also upset some Black voters who have traditionally supported Labour.
