The first week of the general election campaign has been dominated by a fierce dispute over whether the Labour party would choose Diane Abbott to be its candidate for the Hackney North and Stoke Newington seat.
Ms Abbott took this opportunity to refute rumours that she was one of several Labour MPs who was offered peerages in exchange for resigning.
In a post on X, she said: “I have never been offered a seat in the Lords, and would not accept one if offered. I intend to run and to win as Labour's candidate.”
This is factually incorrect. I have never been offered a seat in the Lords, and would not accept one if offered.
— Diane Abbott (@HackneyAbbott) June 2, 2024
I am the adopted Labour candidate for Hackney North & Stoke Newington. I intend to run and to win as Labour's candidate.https://t.co/lAfrehJdVm
She also received advice from her close friend Baroness Chakrabarti to "take some time" and think about whether or not to run for Labour in the general election.
The Labour peer expressed her disapproval of the party's handling of her "dear friend" at briefings, saying it had been "appalling".
But who is Diane Abbott and why was she suspended from Labour?
Who is Diane Abbott?
Ms Abbott has served as an MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington since being elected in 1987.
The 70-year-old is an advisor to the Privy Council and was the Shadow Home Secretary in Jeremy Corbyn's Shadow Cabinet from 2016 until 2020.
A history graduate from Cambridge, she worked in civil service and as a reporter for Thames Television and TV-am before becoming a press officer for the Greater London Council.
She joined the Labour party after she was elected to Westminster City Council in 1982 and then as an MP in 1987. She has been re-elected in every general election since.
Why was she suspended from Labour?
A 13-month investigation was put forward against the politician following the publication of a letter she wrote to The Observer declaring that Jewish, Irish and Traveller people do not encounter racism “all their lives”.
Subsequently, she expressed her desire to "wholly and unreservedly withdraw my remarks and disassociate myself from them."
The controversy led her to lose her Labour whip.
More than a year later, on Tuesday, May 28, 2024, she had the Labour whip reinstated after apologising and completing a training course.
While she was given the whip back, Ms Abbott had revealed that she was banned from standing as a Labour MP.
She told The Standard on May 29: “I had the whip restored yesterday afternoon but within minutes we saw they had briefed the Times the story as attached, that you have probably seen. And it is true.”
Naturally I am delighted to have the Labour Whip restored and to be a member of the PLP.
— Diane Abbott (@HackneyAbbott) May 29, 2024
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. pic.twitter.com/OKdyLLOmvE
Will Diane Abbott stand for Labour?
Ms Abbott declared that she “intends to run and win” for Hackney North and Stoke Newington in a post on X.
On Tuesday (June 4), the ruling Labour Party's National Executive Committee (NEC) will convene a critical meeting to choose whether to support a variety of candidates running for many open seats.The party has already unveiled a plethora of candidates in safe seats who are close associates of Sir Keir Starmer and have played a pivotal role in transforming the party since the tenure of Jeremy Corbyn.
Among them are six members of Labour's national executive committee, including Luke Akehurst of North Durham and James Asser in West Ham and Beckton.
Others on the list include candidates who have provided Mr Starmer with sufficient help in the past such as Josh Simons, the director of Labour Together (the brains behind Mr Starmer’s leadership election), Alex Barros-Curtis, and the Resolution Foundation’s Torsten Bell in Swansea West.
What has Keir Starmer said?
Following rumours that the party's ruling board might prevent her from running, Mr Starmer declared on Friday that she will be allowed to run.
"The whip has obviously been restored to her now and she is free to go forward as a Labour candidate," he said.
Emphasising the point that she was elected in 1987 as the first black woman MP, the Labour leader said that Ms Abbott “carved a path for other people to come into politics and public life”.
However, things looked a little different earlier in the day as Mr Starmer had previously refused to back the Veteran MP being able to stand at the general election.
But following criticism over his stance within Labour pushed him to speak up and say she would be “free” to run.
