Diane Abbott shakes up the race

By Alex Smith / @alexsmith1982

There’s a sense that Diane Abbot’s entry to the leadership race this morning will really shake up the contest for the better.

Abbot has said that she is confident of receiving the 33 nominations required to get on the ballot paper, and will bring a new perspective to the contest, currently dominated by the Miliband brothers, Ed Balls and Andy Burnham.

Abbot said on Radio 4 this morning:

“So many people in the past 48 hours have asked me to put my hat in the ring and I have finally agreed to do so. We need the broadest possible debate. We can’t go forward with a leadership debate where there is no woman. And we need to speak to our supporters and our members in a way we’ve not been speaking to them up until now.”

Abbot has also spoken this morning about the immigration debate:

“It’s not enough to say we feel the pain of working class concern about immigration. We have to admit that we still run a system which is chaotic and unfair…All these candidates are very nice, but they all look and sound the same, and they’re all saying the same sorts of things. And I think party members feel we need a genuine debate about the future of the party.”