Labour members leaving party over Diane Abbott suspension, activists claim
Droves of Labour members are leaving the party over Diane Abbott’s suspension, activists have claimed.
The Hackney North and Stoke Newington MP lost the whip in April last year after she wrote in The Observer that Jewish, Irish and Traveller people are not subject to racism “all their lives”.
While Ms Abbott remains a party member, she now sits as an independent MP while an internal investigation of her comments continues.
Renewed calls for the whip to be returned to Britain’s first black female MP have been sparked following the uproar over Conservative donor Frank Hester’s comments where he said Ms Abbott made him want to “hate all black women” and “should be shot”.
Mr Hester apologised for making rude comments but said his remarks “had nothing to do with her gender nor colour of skin”.
On Friday, Ms Abbott said on a post on X, she believes that she will not have the Labour whip restored because her attacks on the party’s leadership “have intensified”.
Esheru, a prominent black activist in Hackney, who uses an alias to protect himself from racial abuse, claims lots of Labour members have left the party since Sir Keir Starmer became leader.
He told i: “I don’t think I know anybody who is a member of the party anymore and it’s because of the direction it’s taken. Most people I know that were party members have left it.”
Esheru said many Hackney locals believe Ms Abbott is being forced out of the party because she leans left, which is why Labour’s investigation has been taking so long.
He claims Labour have alienated “swathes of people on the left” and believes people would “vote for her as an independent” like Jeremy Corbyn, MP for Islington North, who was also suspended by Starmer.
Esheru said while Ms Abbott may have offended the Jewish community, he believes this was “clearly unintentional” and her letter was meant to point out simply that black people cannot “change their appearance to blend in”.
Emmanuel Akin, Bame officer for Hackney Labour, said local party members would like to see Ms Abbott stand as a MP for the party but it was ultimately a decision for the senior Labour leadership.
He told i: “I think it is really important that we have that seat represented.
“The members that she represents, her constituents, I think they will definitely want to have Diane represent [them] and stand.
“There is a feeling that members would want her to continue to stay and successfully represent them as an MP serving in Hackney.”
Mr Akin said he has no knowledge of the investigation into her remarks.
He also said Ms Abbott has done some really “significant work” for people living in Hackney, which “must be respected” and he would love to see her continue to stand as an MP because of her “great work and track record”.
He added: “But I think what we need to look at is, we need to remind ourselves of the accomplishments that Diane Abbott has achieved in this position.
“We definitely need to look at the accomplishments and accolades that she has achieved in her time as an MP.”
Ms Abbott is among several other candidates who have been suspended from the party, who replaced Jeremy Corbyn in April 2020, over their actions, including several who have criticised Israel’s bombardment of Gaza.
Yesterday a rally was held at Hackney Town Hall, which was organised to support Ms Abbott and black women following Mr Hester’s remarks and also called for the MP to have the whip reinstated.
After Wednesday’s Prime Minister’s Questions, in which Sir Keir urged Rishi Sunak to return Mr Hester’s £10m donations, the Labour leader approached Ms Abbott to offer support.
Ms Abbott said she replied: “You could restore the whip.”
On Thursday Sir Keir told the BBC’s Jeremy Vine the ongoing investigation into Ms Abbott’s letter, which is separate from him and the “independent process” was “not resolved”.
Sir Keir also noted that Ms Abbott has been “subjected to more of that kind of abuse than I think any other MP ever”.
“We absolutely need to put our arm around her and give her support in relation to that,” he added.
Labour have been contacted by i for comment about the remarks made by the activists.
