Last general election: Starmer hasn’t spoken to Diane Abbott for ‘months’ as Tories rise in polls

After days of intense speculation, Sir Keir Stamer has confirmed that Diane Abbott is free to run in the general election.

He said: “Diane was elected in 1987. The first black MP. She was a pioneer.

“She paved the way for other people to enter politics and public life. The whip has now clearly been returned to her and she is free to go forward as a Labor candidate.”

Asked if he understood Mrs Abbott’s intention to stand, he replied: “She is free to go forward as a Labor candidate. The whip came back with her. It has been restored. And of course you know that she was a pioneer for many, many years and that she was a path for others to enter politics.

“So, formally the matter of the NEC, I have not expressed my point of view until now. She is free to go forward as a Labor candidate.”

The Conservatives said Sir Keir Starmer’s decision to re-elect Diane Abbott showed he was a “weak leader” who had “lost control”.

The party accused the Labor leader of being “pushed by Angela Rayner”.

A party spokesman said: “Under pressure, he is proving to be a weak leader who is losing control of the Labor Party.

“It shows even more clearly that you don’t know what you will get if Keir Starmer becomes Prime Minister – apart from higher taxes for you and your family.”

Labor is facing a backlash from all sides after Starmer’s U-turn on Diane Abbott.

Conservative former immigration minister Robert Jenrick condemned the decision and said the party had not changed.

Mr Jenrick said: “A year ago Starmer rightly suspended Diane Abbott for reducing antisemitism. This week, Starmer’s team made it clear that she would not be reinstated.

“The hard left is howling with rage. And Starmer gives up. The work has not changed.”

Senior NEC member Mish Rahman said Diane Abbott should never have gone through this after Sir Keir Starmer confirmed the MP was free to run for the party.

Mr Rahman announced: “For months and months Starmer falsely claimed that this was an independent process and that he was not involved.

“Then he said it was up to the NEC. It was now revealed what a lie it was, because he had now decided on his own that she would be a candidate. Not NEC.

“This is a sensible decision and we all know it was an act of self-destruction that could have been completely avoided.

“Diane Abbott should never have gone through this.”

It came after a clip from his For many a 2022 podcast was widely shared in which he said he lived in Tunbridge Wells “a bit against his will”.

Supporters of Faiza Shaheen have announced a rally in support of her candidacy in the General Election.

Protest organizers said they would gather outside a supermarket in Highams Park, in the Chingford and Woodford Green constituency.

Ms Shaheen had hoped to run for the north London seat as a Labor candidate, running against current Conservative chairman Sir Iain Duncan Smith, but the party reportedly prevented her from standing over past social media posts by X.

In a statement, organizers said: “We are appalled by the treatment of Faiza Shaheen, who was democratically elected to represent our community. We call for her immediate reappointment as a Labor Party candidate and the right to vote for her to be our local MP.”

Labor has since announced Shamu Tatler as its candidate for Chingford and Woodford Green.

Activists held a rally in support of Diana Abbott’s candidacy in Hackney earlier this week. The Hackney North and Stoke Newington candidate is “free” to run as Labour’s candidate in the general election, party leader Sir Keir Starmer confirmed this afternoon.

Voters are backing Lord Heseltine’s claim that the current general election risks being “one of the most unfair” in history because the main parties will not debate Britain’s relationship with the European Union.

The We think A poll on voter intentions showed that almost six out of 10 voters (58 percent) believe that Brexit and Britain’s relationship with the EU should be one of the main issues in the election.

The poll of 1,242 voters, commissioned by the pro-EU European Movement, followed former deputy prime minister Lord Heseltine’s intervention in The Independent this week where he warned that no issue could be discussed without reference to Brexit.

Read more from David Maddox here:

Finally breaking his silence on Diana Abbott’s future as Labour’s candidate, Sir Keir Starmer told reporters today: “The whip has now clearly been returned to her and she is free to go forward as Labour’s candidate.”

He praised the Labor veteran as a “pioneer”, saying: “Diane Abbott was elected in 1987, the first black woman in parliament.

“She paved the way for other people to enter politics and public life.”

He previously refused to say whether Ms Abbot would defend her seat in Hackney North and Stoke Newington on July 4, as he faced claims of a “purge” of left-wing candidates.

Ms Abbott was suspended from the Labor party last year after she suggested Jews, Irish and Travelers were prejudiced but not racist, sparking a lengthy process to become an independent MP.

She was given back her Labor seat this week but was told she could be “banned” from standing for the party in the General Election.

Labor sources said Ms Abbott would be Labour’s candidate in her long-held constituency and Labour’s ruling National Executive Committee was expected to back her bid.