Diane Abbott has been readmitted as a Labour MP, according to the BBC, though it remains uncertain if she will represent the party in the upcoming general election.
The former shadow home secretary was suspended in April 2023 after comments suggesting Jewish, Irish, and Traveller people do not face lifelong racism. This suspension prevented her from standing for Labour in the July 4 election.
Party officials attempted to negotiate her return to the party on the condition that she would not seek re-election. It is unclear if Abbott, the MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington, has agreed to these terms.
Labour has not yet announced its candidate for the Hackney North and Stoke Newington constituency, and Abbott has been contacted for comment.
The party is finalizing its candidate selections, with a meeting to endorse them next week before the nomination deadline on June 7. Local Labour branches missed the deadline on Monday to propose their own candidates.
The investigation into Abbott’s comments, launched in April last year, concluded in December 2023. Her remarks in the Observer suggested that while Irish, Jewish, and Traveller people experience prejudice, it is not equivalent to lifelong racism. She apologized and retracted the statement shortly after.
The Labour National Executive Committee (NEC) issued her a formal warning for conduct deemed prejudicial and detrimental to the party, requiring her to complete an antisemitism awareness course, which she did in February. Labour’s chief whip acknowledged her completion of the course via email.
Despite Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer’s recent comments indicating the investigation was unresolved, Conservative Party chairman Richard Holden criticized this stance, calling it “inconceivable” that Starmer was unaware the process had concluded.
Abbott, the first black woman elected to Parliament in 1987 and a close ally of former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, saw her ally Corbyn suspended as a Labour MP in 2020. Corbyn will contest the Islington North seat as an independent.
Momentum, the campaign group supporting Corbyn, argued that not selecting Abbott as a candidate would be “outrageous” and disrespectful to her legacy and supporters.
Labour’s candidate list will be endorsed by the NEC on Tuesday. Parliament is set to dissolve on Thursday, initiating the five-week election campaign leading up to the July 4 polling day.
editor
What a disgusting show of dictatorial bullying by Starmer, his disgraceful treatment of Diane Abbott shows the contempt he holds for left wing politicians and should serve as a warning to many who may have thought that voting Labour would rid them of the Tories as George Galloway keeps reminding us they are just one of the two cheeks of the same Ass. Vote for what you want and ignore the stupidity of “Wasted Vote scare tactics.. The definition of madness is to keep doing the same thing and expecting a different result, IT WONT!