Former shadow home secretary Diane Abbott has accused the Labour Party of carrying out a “cull” of left-wing candidates and MPs in the run up to the general election.
Lloyd Russell-Moyle, who was MP for Brighton Kemptown, has been suspended by the party over what he called a “vexatious and politically motivated complaint” which means he will not be Labour’s candidate on July 4.
Faiza Shaheen, another left-winger, who was Labour’s candidate in Chingford and Woodford Green at the last election, has been told she will not be challenging Iain Duncan Smith for the seat this time around.
Responding to the news, Ms. Abbott wrote on social media platform X: “Appalling. Whose clever idea has it been to have a cull of left wingers?”
The Labour Party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) is due to meet on June 4 to decide if Ms. Abbott can stand for the party in the general election.
Ms. Abbott, who became the first black woman to be elected to Parliament in 1987, was suspended as a Labour MP in April 2023 after suggesting Jewish people are not subject to racism “all their lives.”
She had the party whip suspended by Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, who has fought to expunge any traces of anti-Semitism in the party since he took over from his hard-left predecessor Jeremy Corbyn.
Ms. Shaheen, who increased Labour’s vote by 2 percent at the last election but lost to Mr. Duncan Smith by 1,262 votes, claimed she had been blocked from standing after liking a post on X that allegedly downplayed anti-Semitism accusations.
‘What Message Are You Sending the Black Community?’
Ms. Shaheen said: “On top of Gaza, on top of Diane Abbott and now this to me, when there’s such clear double standards of how other people have been treated when stuff has happened … what message are you sending my community? What message are you sending the black community?”The Labour Muslim Network described Ms. Shaheen’s treatment by Labour as “unacceptable.”
But shadow Cabinet minister Darren Jones denied there had been any “purge” of left-wingers and told Times Radio: “I don’t think that’s true. I mean, there are many colleagues of mine in the parliamentary Labour Party who would define themselves as being on the left who are endorsed Labour Party candidates standing in their constituency.”
Mish Rahman, who sits on the NEC, told Times Radio: “Keir Starmer hides behind technicalities. He’s been hiding behind the independent process technicality for a while when actually, as we’ve now discovered, the independent process ended in December. Now he’s hiding behind the NEC.”
Mr. Rahman said the NEC would “rubber stamp” the candidates put before it, but he said “it will be the leadership’s decision” whether to include Ms. Abbott because those loyal to Sir Keir were in the majority on the NEC.
He said: “So when Keir Starmer says, ‘oh, the NEC will decide,’ at the end of the day, it’s more lawyer talk. It’s him and his action which will actually decide whether Diane Abbott is a Labour MP or not.”
Mr. Russell-Moyle, a left-winger who was a shadow minister under Jeremy Corbyn, said he was “gutted” after he received an “administrative suspension letter” telling him he could not stand as a Labour candidate.
Mr. Russell-Moyle said: “Someone (who remains anonymous to me) has made what I believe to be a vexatious and politically motivated complaint about my behaviour eight years ago. This is a false allegation that I dispute totally and I believe it was designed to disrupt this election.”
“There isn’t enough time to defend myself as these processes within the party take too long, so the party have told me that I will not be eligible to be a candidate at the next election,” he added.
A Labour Party spokesman said, “The Labour Party takes all complaints extremely seriously and they are fully investigated in line with our rules and procedures, and any appropriate disciplinary action is taken.”
Ms. Abbott had the party whip restored earlier this week but wrote on X on Wednesday she was “very dismayed” to hear reports she had been rejected as a candidate.
But Sir Keir later said it was not true Ms. Abbott had been barred from standing as the Labour candidate in Hackney North and Stoke Newington on July 4.
He said a final decision would be made at the next NEC meeting.
Six trade unions affiliated with Labour have called for Ms. Abbott to be allowed to stand.
Richard Holden, the chairman of the Conservative Party, has written to Sir Keir demanding answers about the disciplinary process regarding Ms. Abbott amid reports the NEC concluded its investigation several months ago.
Tory Chairman Says Starmer Has ‘Serious Questions to Answer’
Mr. Holden wrote on X: “Today we’ve found out that the investigation into Diane Abbott concluded five months ago, and she'd already received a formal warning. No ifs, no buts, Sir Keir Starmer has been lying to the British people and has serious questions to answer.”Last week Mr. Corbyn was told he would not be allowed to stand as the Labour candidate in Islington North.
He then vowed to stand as an independent and was immediately expelled from the party.
In April 2023 Abbott, who served in the shadow Cabinet under Mr. Corbyn, wrote a letter to The Observer newspaper in response to a comment which suggested Irish, Jewish, and Traveller people all suffer from racism in the UK.
In the letter she wrote, “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,” she added.
