What did Diane Abbott say? Letter and comments explained as MP told she's 'free' to stand for Labour

A row over whether Diane Abbott would be able to stand in the 2024 general election for Labour threatened to distract from Keir Starmer’s pitch to voters on the NHS. However, the Labout leader said on Friday, May 31 that Abbott was “free” to stand for the party in the upcoming election, drawing a line in the sand over the row.

The veteran Labour MP, who in 1987 became the first black woman elected to Parliament, said she was “dismayed” at the prospect she could be barred from standing. Abbott had the Labour whip suspended in April 2023 pending an investigation after she suggested Jewish, Irish and Traveller people experience prejudice, but not racism.

The whip was restored on Tuesday, but Abbott appeared to believe she had been barred from standing in Stoke Newington and Hackney on 4 July. Starmer has since said that “no decision has been taken to bar Diane Abbott”.

Here’s everything you need to know about the letter and the furore which is overshadowing Labour’s general election campaign.

Who is Diane Abbott?

Diane Abbott has been the MP for Hackney and Stoke Newington since 1987, when she was elected as the UK’s first black woman MP. Abbott, now 70, is seen as on the left of the party, and was critical of several of Tony Blair’s policies, including the Iraq War.

She rose to prominence as Shadow Home Secretary when Jeremy Corbyn was leader, and is seen as a trailblazer for black and minority ethnic (BAME) politicians. She had the Labour whip suspended in April 2023 pending an investigation after she suggested Jewish, Irish and Traveller people experience prejudice, but not racism. Earlier this year, the Guardian reported that the Tories biggest donor, Frank Hester, had said that Abbott made him "want to hate all black women" and added that she "should be shot". This caused a huge uproar, with Hester apologising and Sunak under pressure over his association with the businessman.

Abbott had a brief relationship with Corbyn in the 70s, but has been married to David Ayensu-Thompson, a Ghanaian architect, since 1991. She became part of internet culture, when she was pictured drinking an M&S mojito on a London Overground train - an image which has frequently been used as a meme. She apologised for drinking on public transport.

What did Diane Abbott say in her letter?

Diane Abbott had the Labour whip suspended in April 2023 for a letter she wrote in the Observer. This means that since then, she’s been sitting as an independent MP. She wrote to paper in response to an article by Tomiwa Owolade entitled: ‘Racism in Britain is not a black and white issue. It’s far more complicated.’

Abbott wrote: “Tomiwa Owolade claims that Irish, Jewish and Traveller people all suffer from ‘racism’. 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.” 

There was a severe backlash to this letter, which Labour leader Keir Starmer said was “anti-Semitic”. At the time, Starmer said: “Diane Abbott has suffered a lot of racial abuse over many, many years – that doesn’t take away from the fact that I condemn the words she used and we must never accept the argument that there’s some sort of hierarchy of racism. I will never accept that, the Labour Party will never accept that, and that’s why we acted as swiftly as we did.”

Abbott apologised for the letter, saying: “I wish to wholly and unreservedly withdraw my written remarks and disassociate myself from them.” She blamed the issue on “an initial draft being sent”. 

Will she be able to stand for Labour?

There’s been confusion over whether Abbott will be able to stand for Labour at the upcoming general election. BBC’s Newsnight programme reported that the probe into the Hackney and Stoke Newington MP was completed in December, although Starmer said days ago it was “ongoing”. 

Abbott tweeted on Wednesday (29 May) to say she had had the Labour whip restored, however a report in the Times stated she would not be allowed to stand. She said: “Naturally I am delighted to have the Labour Whip restored and to be a member of the PLP. Thank you to all those who supported me along the way.

“I will be campaigning for a Labour victory. But I am very dismayed that numerous reports suggest I have been barred as a candidate.”

A Labour source suggested her claim to have been banned from standing for the party might be an attempt to “bounce” leaders into a deal ahead of a meeting of the ruling National Executive Committee (NEC).

The source said: “The NEC is due to finalise candidate endorsements on Tuesday. I think this may be an attempt to bounce Loto (Leader of the Opposition’s Office) into some sort of deal.”

Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting said Abbott was a “trailblazer” but it is a “decision for the Labour Party’s NEC” whether she can stand. He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I have no idea (of) the basis upon which the decision is made.”

Since then, Starmer has denied reports she’s been blocked from standing. He said: “No decision has been taken to bar Diane Abbott. The process that we were going through ended with the restoration of the whip the other day, so she’s a member of the Parliamentary Labour Party and no decision has been taken barring her.”

The deadline for candidates is on 4 June, so voters will know by then if Abbott is standing. It sounds unlikely that she will follow her old boss Corbyn, and stand as an independent.

What have Labour members said?

NationalWorld spoke to black Labour members, who are furious at the way Abbott has been treated. One said the move “genuinely could be a huge hit of morale to BAME members if Diane doesn't get reinstated. The white boys in leadership don't f****** listen.”

They added: “Honestly the way they treated her has been horrible. Some in Loto see her as a woman Corbyn and not the modern icon she is.”

Ralph Blackburn is NationalWorld’s politics editor based in Westminster, where he gets special access to Parliament, MPs and government briefings. If you liked this article you can follow Ralph on X (Twitter) here and sign up to his free weekly newsletter Politics Uncovered, which brings you the latest analysis and gossip from Westminster every Sunday morning.