[Abernathy]

Apparently, the party had been trying to get Abbott to agree to stand down at the election in return for the restoration of the whip. It's not clear whether Abbott agreed to this, but I'd be surprised if she had.

[Malcolm Armsteen]

Having the whip restored and being placed on the list of approved candidates are two different things - however I think it would be dodgy to stop her standing if she wishes to.

[davidjay]

Watching the reactions from both extremes to her getting a peerage would be fun.

[Malcolm Armsteen]

Apparently she has agreed not to stand.

A sad end to a career that once promised so much.

[Abernathy]

Apparently she has agreed not to stand.

I don't think that can be right, Malc., based on what she has tweeted (Xed?) this morning.

[Malcolm Armsteen]

The story does seem to be evolving...

[Malcolm Armsteen]

Jess Phillips is supporting Dianne being able to stand in Hackney.

Hard to disagree if DA has done the necessary.

[Abernathy]

I think we can agree that this has not been handled well.

Thinking about it logically and strategically, though, Starmer's whole approach to this election is based on the proposition that he now leads a Labour Party that has changed. The whole theme of the election campaign is, in fact, the single word, "Change". Anti-semitism and far-left nut-jobbery are things of the past that those conservatively-inclined voters that Labour so needs need no longer concern themselves with.

When Starmer got the NEC to disbar Corbyn from being selected as a Labour candidate at the election, it was because the failed leader standing as an official Labour candidate would risk undermining that key message of change, and of jeopardising the Labour win that is so desperately needed. Abbott, one of Corbyn's closest allies, arguably represents a similar threat, so it makes logical sense for her to be treated in the same way as Corbyn has been.

But it should have been sorted out ages ago, as Corbyn was. If the intention was to remove the risk of Abbott standing again as a Labour candidate and undermining the party's offer at the election, it should have been done and dusted, instead of being allowed to rumble on into the actual general election campaign. Maybe they were waiting for Abbott to signal that she was going to retire, but if so they could have tried a bit harder a good bit sooner to force her hand.

Instead, Starmer now appears to have lied this week about the investigation still going on, when in reality the investigation concluded in December 2023. It still, judging from news reports this morning, seems unclear whether Abbott has in fact been barred from standing again. I dare say the NEC need to meet on an emergency basis to decide. But time is running out.

This needs to be sorted out, one way or another, pretty damned quick.

[Crabcakes]

Starmer has now confirmed she is not barred, so either Diane Abbot has been misinformed, or jumped to a conclusion and decided to make a meal out of it to stick it to Starmer.

It sounds like a conflation of admin issues with awkward timing around when the process actually ended coinciding with the election being sprung. But so far at least every time the Corbynistas have decided something has been done and kicked off about it, it’s turned out to not be the case.

[Abernathy]

Abbott now has the chance to announce her retirement with some dignity. With some health issues and being the wrong side of 70, she would be well advised to take it.

However, since she is Diane Abbott, she probably won't.

[Tubby Isaacs]

"Go now, I'll make sure you get a round of applause".

[Andy McDandy]

Hindsight being a thing, and mine being amazing, a statement along the lines of "Dianne has apologised for her comments and has completed training in awareness about anti-Semitic and anti-Traveller racism. While we are glad to welcome her back, we are very clear that any allegations of racism will be investigated thoroughly and sanctions applied, regardless of who the person is" could have sorted a lot out.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Doesn't sound like she's in any sort of hurry to run as an independent to me.

[Abernathy]

Abbott addressing a crowd in Hackney this evening. Says she has been "banned" from standing as a Labour candidate by the party nationally, but also, puzzlingly, that she has not heard from the party nationally (so how does she know?). She also confirms that she does intend to run as an independent if necessary.

She also doesn't seem very well. Her hand, holding a microphone as she spoke, was shaking like a shitting dog.

[Malcolm Armsteen]

A point made by Mrs A.

She's winding things up for Jeremy's advantage - in seeing Starmer fail.

Bringing the party into disrepute?

[davidjay]

Abbott now has the chance to announce her retirement with some dignity. With some health issues and being the wrong side of 70, she would be well advised to take it.

However, since she is Diane Abbott, she probably won't.

There are many things she could have done, many times, but didn't. She should be stepping down as a widely respected politician who rose from nothing to achieve high office. Instead, she's a martyr for idiots and a figure of fun for bigots.

[kreuzberger]

I am no great fan of the current iteration of the Lords, but restoring the whip and packing her off upstairs would seem to me to have been a palatable compromise. Perhaps, she was in no mood to take that option. Who knows?

As the dust settles, many Black people of the country will be outraged by the treatment of their long-standing champion. Many others, too.

Starmer has also reversed himself in to the position of a man whose relationship with the truth is less credibly robust than he would have us believe. Cough, cough, ahem, "integrity".

[Malcolm Armsteen]

I watched her giving her speech to her supporters - and she looked awful, Shaking, didn't seem in control of even her voice.

She's been iconic, it's a shame if it all ends in ignominy.

[satnav]

As you would expect certain parts of the media are making a real meal of the situation to try and undermine Labour but in reality the worse case scenario is that Corbyn and Abbot get elected as independents. As independents they could make the odd speech in parliament but beyond that they will be irrelevant.

In the general scheme of things Starmer is seen by the public as being tough on extremism which could win over many of the voters who abandoned Labour under Corbyn.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Didn't expect this.