Abbott and Winter speak out: Are Labour’s party processes up to scratch?

Abbott speaks out

Diane Abbott has accused Labour of undertaking a “fraudulent” investigation into comments she made on racism that led to her losing the party whip earlier this year. The veteran MP claimed in a lengthy statement on X, previously Twitter, there was “no investigation”, Starmer’s swift public pronouncement of her “guilt” undermined it and that her local party had seen its elected leadership “decapitated” in a bid to replace her at the next election.

Abbott said in her statement on Tuesday that she had “remained silent about this issue until now… in the hope that some sense of decency and recognition of the tenets of natural justice might prevail”. She argued that the “Labour Party disciplinary machine has clearly shown that it has little interest in either”, adding: “There is a widespread sentiment that, as a Black woman, and someone on the left of the Labour Party, that I will not get a fair hearing from this Labour leadership.”

A party spokesperson said it expects “the highest standards of behaviour from its elected representatives, and has introduced an independent complaints process to investigate cases”, adding: “We do not give a running commentary on ongoing investigations.” Abbott’s statement unsurprisingly sparked anger from the left, with Momentum describing the long-serving MP’s treatment as “nothing short of disgraceful”, while Jeremy Corbyn described her case as the “latest stitch-up” and “yet another flagrant attack on local democracy”.

But concerns raised by Abbott may cause disquiet further across the political spectrum, given her trail-blazing role as the UK’s first Black female MP. Tony Blair’s political secretary John McTernan said at the time of her suspension that her apology should be “accepted in the spirit it is offered”, while national vice-chair of the Jewish Labour Movement and Labour peer Ruth Anderson said Abbott’s political career shouldn’t “end like this”.

Winter’s discontent

Abbott is not the only left-wing MP hitting out at internal party processes this week. Welsh Labour MP Beth Winter is calling for an independent review into the selection process earlier this year that saw her defeated by frontbencher Gerald Jones. The two sitting MPs were pitted against each other as a result of proposed boundary changes that would see Winter’s current constituency effectively merged with Jones’. Writing to the Welsh executive committee, Winter claimed that the process “was not inclusive, fair or democratic” and that “this leads to feelings of a lack of trust and confidence in Labour Party procedures”, arguing that an independent review is “essential” to “restore some trust in the party”.

During the selection process, Winter accused Welsh Labour’s executive of “undemocratic” behaviour, taking issue with the fact the executive voted for a process that includes virtual rather than in-person hustings and highlighting that the process did not include the chance for branches and affiliates to make nominations. Welsh Labour was approached for comment on her latest intervention. It previously said all members were written to and turnout was high.

In other Labour news…

• INFLATION: The UK’s inflation rate fell unexpectedly to 6.7% in August, down from 6.8% the previous month. Responding to the figures, Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves accused Rishi Sunak of being “too weak to turn things around” (The Guardian)
• STRIKES: Junior doctors join consultants on strike today in their first joint action. Consultants began two days of walkouts on Tuesday, while junior doctors are due to strike for the next three days (BBC News)
• BREXIT: Labour is ‘not interested’ in associate EU membership if it wins the next election, according to Shadow Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds, after France and Germany tabled a blueprint to offer Britain and other countries “associate membership” of the bloc (Sky News)
• LIB DEMS: Lib Dem leader Ed Davey has rejected the idea of electoral deals with Labour to defeat Tory MPs at the next general election but did not rule out entering a coalition with Labour after the election (BBC News)
• LIVINGSTONE: Former London mayor Ken Livingstone has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, his family has announced (The Guardian)

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