The Abbott Effect?

By Caitlin Fitzmaurice

On Wednesday night, I attended the New Statesman’s leadership debate. The turnout was inspiring, as were the candidates. The hall was full, the candidates prepped, and hecklers ready and waiting. And what unfolded can only be described as “The Abbott Effect”.

To some, Diane Abbott is the ultimate underdog, on the ballot purely for the purposes of a wide debate representing all sides of the party. Cynics would say she will return to her weekly spot snuggled up to Michael Portillo on This Week ever so quickly.

But we British love an underdog. We root for them. At least, that was certainly the case on Wednesday.

Diane entered the hall to rapturous applause and stood in the centre of the platform with two former cabinet ministers either side of her. She was captivating, speaking articulately and passionately about how she would tackle the deficit and deal with immigration and the BNP. She said Mummy Miliband should have told her boys about the unfairness of life.­ It was her passionate and unique way of addressing the audience, coupled with her left-wing perspective, that made her the undisputed champion of the debate.

Although Channel 4 polling on Wednesday disgareed with me, I felt Ed Miliband as runner up. He entered to a chorus of chanting and placards, and, in my opinion out-performed his brother, who has been Heir Apparent in a lot of circles for a long time. Ed spoke with conviction and passion, backed up by solid ideology and a policy agenda that he would implement as leader.

Whether or not “The Abbott Effect” is enough to make Diane a real contender in this race isn’t really the issue. What is more important is that Diane Abbott has made this a real contest and one that is centred on ideas and values, generating an engaging debate not only for the party, but also the country as a whole. I’m still not convinced that she is the right leader for the party; but her entry has already transformed this contest and given it much needed energy.

Wednesday night’s debate demonstrated that the Blair/Brown cleavage – which has been so divisive in the Labour Party – is now over and we’re moving into a new chapter in our party’s history.