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Diane Abbott accuses Labour of ‘leftwing cull’ after two fellow MPs barred from standing

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https://www.theguardian.com/politics/article/2024/may/30/diane-abbott-accuses-labour-leftwing-cull-mps-barred-standing-election

Diane Abbott addressing supporters on the steps of Hackney town hall on Wednesday. Photograph: Guy Smallman/Getty Images

Diane Abbott has accused Labour of carrying out a “cull of leftwingers” after she and others were blocked or dissuaded from standing for the party.

The veteran Labour MP vowed on Wednesday to stay on for “as long as it is possible” after a deal for her to retire from parliament broke down.

The row, which has angered and frustrated some Labour MPs and staff, escalated on Thursday after two leftwing candidates were blocked from standing for the party in the general election.

Faiza Shaheen, who had been Labour’s candidate in Chingford and Woodford Green, told BBC Two’s Newsnight she received an email telling her she had been deselected after the decision was first made public in the Times.

Responding to the news on X, Abbott said: “Appalling. Whose clever idea has it been to have a cull of left wingers?”

Lloyd Russell-Moyle, the MP for Brighton Kemptown, announced he had been suspended from the party on Wednesday afternoon and would not be allowed to stand for Labour at the election.

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https://www.theguardian.com/politics/article/2024/may/30/diane-abbott-accuses-labour-leftwing-cull-mps-barred-standing-election

Continue ReadingDiane Abbott accuses Labour of ‘leftwing cull’ after two fellow MPs barred from standing

Jeremy Corbyn formally launches campaign to be independent MP for Islington North

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https://leftfootforward.org/2024/05/jeremy-corbyn-formally-launches-campaign-to-be-independent-mp-for-islington-north/

Corbyn said he wanted to be an “independent voice for equality, for democracy and for peace”

The former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn formally launched his campaign to be elected as an independent MP for Islington North last night (29 May). Corbyn is standing as an independent after being blocked from being a Labour candidate in the general election.

At a packed meeting, Corbyn started the launch by saying that he wanted to be an “independent voice for equality, for democracy and for peace” and slammed what he described as a “political system that is no longer, sadly, offering the hope to so many people that it should.”

Corbyn continued by saying: “Politics should be about hope. Politics should be about making sure that those that are silenced are heard, those that are pushed aside are brought back in, those whose needs are so often unmet. It short, it is about the hope that we can bring to people. That’s what politics ought to do.”

Among the specific policy areas Corbyn pledged to campaign on were scrapping the two child benefit cap, ending sanctions for benefits claimants, taking public services such as water and Royal Mail into public ownership and introducing rent controls in the private sector.

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Corbyn launches election campaign as an independent

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Mr Corbyn was suspended as a Labour MP in 2020 for his response to a report into anti-Semitism in the party.

Launching his campaign at a community centre in Crouch Hill, he accused Labour of “denying democracy” by not allowing him to stand for the party.

“Labour members were denied a vote. If you shut down that democratic voice then you’ve got problems. That’s why I’ve decided I will run,” he said.

He also said he had sent a message of support to Diane Abbott amidst the uncertainty over whether she will be allowed to stand for Labour and attempt to defend her Hackney North and Stoke Newington seat.

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Continue ReadingJeremy Corbyn formally launches campaign to be independent MP for Islington North

Faiza Shaheen left shocked after being blocked from standing as Labour candidate

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https://leftfootforward.org/2024/05/faiza-shaheen-left-shocked-after-being-blocked-from-standing-as-labour-candidate/

Further candidates deselected from Labour causes controversy

Faiza Shaheen announced last night that she will not be standing as a Labour candidate in Chingford and Woodford Green following ‘questions’ over past social media posts. 

In an emotional interview, Shaheen told BBC Newsnight on Wednesday that she had been deselected by Labour ahead of the general election. According to Shaheen, she had found out earlier that evening, firstly via the press, while she was out campaigning.

Shaheen has been Labour PPC for the east London constituency since 2018 and had already started drumming up support in the area for her general election campaign, taking on Iain Duncan Smith from the Conservative Party for a second time.

The decision was based on 14 tweets that raised concerns over her suitability as a candidate. Shaheen said one was about her experiences of Islamophobia within the party, and another about liking a sketch by a Jewish comedian that referred to critics of Israel coming under attack. She said she had since apologised at a disciplinary hearing about a tweet that “plays into a trope” about Jewish people. 

Speaking to Newsnight, Shaheen said she was in a state of shock at “being treated this badly after being such an active member of the party.”

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https://leftfootforward.org/2024/05/faiza-shaheen-left-shocked-after-being-blocked-from-standing-as-labour-candidate/

Continue ReadingFaiza Shaheen left shocked after being blocked from standing as Labour candidate

Diane Abbott ‘has Labour whip restored but banned from election run’

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https://www.thenational.scot/news/24351541.diane-abbott-has-labour-whip-restored-banned-election-run

DIANE Abbott has had the Labour whip restored less than one day after Keir Starmer’s claims that an internal party probe into her was still “ongoing” were revealed to be untrue.

However, she is still to be banned from standing for the party at the next General Election, according to reports.

The PA news agency said that Abbott was given the Labour whip back following an internal investigation into comments she made suggesting that white minorities do not experience “racism” in the same way as others.

As Starmer used comments aimed at Abbott from Tory donor Frank Hester to attack his Conservative opponents in March, he also claimed she could not be given back the Labour whip because that internal probe into her was still ongoing.

However, the BBC reported on Monday night that the investigation had actually concluded in December, 2023.

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https://www.thenational.scot/news/24351541.diane-abbott-has-labour-whip-restored-banned-election-run

Continue ReadingDiane Abbott ‘has Labour whip restored but banned from election run’

Starmer lies on Abbott exposed

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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/starmer-lies-abbott-exposed

Image of Dianne Abbott
Dianne Abbott MP

SIR KEIR STARMER has been concealing the truth over Diane Abbott’s exclusion from Labour in Parliament, it was revealed today.

BBC Newsnight reported that the party probe into Ms Abbott’s offence — a brief newspaper letter for which she immediately apologised — finished last December.

She has since remained without the Labour whip entirely at the discretion of chief whip Alan Campbell, who is appointed by and answers to the Labour leader.

Yet Sir Keir has repeatedly claimed that the decision on Ms Abbott’s future — she cannot stand in the general election for Labour without the matter being resolved — was nothing to do with him.

This has now been exposed as a falsehood. The fact that Britain’s first black woman MP has remained suspended to the point where her career may be terminated has been a decision of the Labour leadership.

Ms Abbott has long ridiculed Sir Keir’s hands-off pretence, tweeting last week that the situation was “everything to do with him.”

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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/starmer-lies-abbott-exposed

Continue ReadingStarmer lies on Abbott exposed