The organisers of a grassroots petition calling on Keir Starmer to restore the Parliamentary Labour Party whip to Diane Abbott which has over 11,000 supporters have used the occasion of the anniversary of Diane’s suspension from the PLP to again call  for the whip to be restored.

Marking the anniversary, Apsana Begum MP said, “One year is too long – the whip should absolutely be restored to Diane. Diane has stood with communities of all backgrounds for decades against racism, division and hate. As racism continues to persist, we stand on her mighty shoulders in fighting for fairness and equality.”

John McDonnell MP added, “The treatment of Diane Abbott has been appalling. The way in which her case has been dealt with in comparison with others leaves the Labour Party open to charges of discrimination and abusive behaviour towards the first black woman MP. I am calling yet again for the whip to be restored to Diane.”

TSSA General Secretary Maryam Eslamdoust said, “We must offer Diane all the solidarity we can and keep up the pressure. Enough is enough – it’s time to restore the whip!”

She added, “The petition and model motion standing with Diane deserve widespread support throughout our movement.”

The co-convenor of Stand up to Racism, Sabby Dhalu said, “Fighting racism must be central to Labour’s agenda. As we approach a general election it’s crucial for Labour to mobilise every single vote that includes mobilising African, Caribbean, Asian and anti-racist voters.”

She added, “Diane Abbott MP’s record on fighting racism is second to none and restoring the whip to her will help mobilise the Labour vote. It’s time for the Labour Party to readmit Diane Abbott into the Labour Party.”

Giving a local perspective, Hackney North CLP member, John Stewart, said: “Every single Branch Labour Party and affiliate that participated in our reselection process voted to reselect Diane. None voted against her because she is a popular, hardworking representative. Keir Starmer should restore the whip now so Diane can continue to represent us.”

The petition was initiated by the Labour Assembly Against Austerity and Arise – A Festival of Left Ideas. Commenting on behalf of the two organisations, Matt Willgress said, “Each day we see illustrations of the growing support there is for Diane to have the whip restored. Now we need to up the campaign, including by reaching 15,000 supporters, and getting as many Labour Party and trade union bodies to follow the lead of the UCU and NEU in showing their solidarity with Diane.”

The petition has also been supported by numerous prominent figures on social media including Bell Ribeiro-Addy MP,  Beth Winter MP, Richard Leonard MSP, Richard Burgon MP, Nadia Whittome MP, Ian Lavery MP, ASLEF General Secretary Mick Whelan, BFAWU General Secretary Sarah Woolley, Grace Blakeley, Andrew Fisher, Alex Nunns, Simon Fletcher, James Scheider and Ben Sellers, plus the Labour Women Leading group. Others advocating for the whip to be restored include former Labour cabinet member Ed Balls, Dawn Butler MP, Kim Johnson MP (Co-Chair of the Black PLP caucus) and TUC President Matt Wrack.

Kate Dove, Momentum Co-Chair, said: “Twelve months after it was launched, it’s clear that Labour’s ‘investigation’ into Diane Abbott is nothing but an excuse to try and force her out of Parliament. Britain’s first black woman MP deserves so much better than this, not least given the horrific racist, sexist abuse Diane has suffered recently. We call on the Labour leadership to put an end to this saga, cease their mistreatment of Diane and restore the whip to her, so she can continue to represent her community as their Labour MP.  It’s what Diane wants, her local party wants, the local community want, and the party’s supporters want. It’s well past time for Keir Starmer to listen.”

Diane Abbott was suspended on 23rd April 2023. Keir Starmer has repeatedly said that the investigation process is independent, but this is not the case. The Party’s National Executive Committee could bring the suspension to a halt at any time.

Abbott has also criticised the process’s lack of independence, saying the whips’ investigation is actually being directed by the Leader’s Office. In September, she concluded that, “As a Black woman, and someone on the left of the Labour Party, I have unfortunately been forced to reach the conclusion that I will not get a fair hearing from this Labour leadership.”

The Forde Report found there had been racism against Diane from senior Labour staffers but she has never received any apology from the Party. There have been public displays of support for her and another rally is planned for this Sunday, April 28^th, at 3pm, Hackney Downs.

A recent poll found that nearly half of voters planning to back Labour would like to see the MP readmitted to the Party – with only 18% against.

 Following the UCU and NEU trade unions nationally expressing solidarity with Diane Abbott, a new model motion for labour movement – including trade union and Labour Party – can be found at here.

The petition can be viewed here.

Main image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Diane_Abbot_MP,_Labour_Party_UK.jpg. Author: Sophie Brown, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.