General Election 2024

The extraordinary thing about Streeting is that he comes across even worse in person. No redeeming features.

Cuddly Crispin

Happened to catch this snippet yesterday:

Tory: We've done a lot to tackle child poverty
Sky Sophie newsperson: But you've been in charge for 13 years, why are children in poverty?
Tory: As you know Sophie, those are complex factors and there is only so much the government can do
Sophie: Next question...

What?! Hold up Tory, please do tell about these complex factors and why the government's hands are supposedly tied.

It feels like an unnecessary risk getting rid of Abbot now. She is popular in her constituency so if she runs as an independent she could win. They’ve obviously longed it out to give her little time to prepare to do that, pretty callous.

Agreed if appears to of been dragged out to give her the least time to prepare to run as independent, if newsnight hadn't forced thier hand no doubt she still wouldn't of been told she can't run

They’ve obviously longed it out to give her little time to prepare to do that, pretty callous.

Then they gaslighted her claiming they were offering her the opportunity to step down "with dignity". Shameful stuff.

Who ever knows the truth but reads like she did want to stand down but expected to be given the respect to announce herself that the whip was restored but she had made the choice not to run rather than it being briefed against and political career ending on a bad note
https://x.com/AnushkaAsthana/status/1795722901938999765?t=AU14e3DHwt1uttE2PtBz2g&s=19

I get the impression Diane Abbott is a loved person but not a great MP, I’m only guessing.

Serious?

If that is right, someone, somewhere is getting an almighty dressing down for leaking.

It feels like an unnecessary risk getting rid of Abbot now.

I think Abbot standing may well lose them more seats than the fairly slim chance of her taking one seat as an independent.

Rightly or wrongly she is not popular with whole swathes of the electorate.

I don’t really no much about her. She seems fairly incompetent. So would labour be better off without her or would the backlash from her going it alone make a for a success story

Who remembers her interview about costing for 10,000 police offers

She's a a grade A moron in front of the camera

She's an excellent MP.

Who remembers her interview about costing for 10,000 police offers

The thing that was all over the papers for fucking ages? She drank a ginny tinny on the tube too, remember that? I reckon quite a few people remember that and not much of the shit maths Tory white guys were also fucking up at the time. As was stated many times then, she's actually pretty fucking clever, has done a lot of impressive stuff and is well liked by her constituents. Nationwide, through the lens of shit papers, she's probably less liked and certainly portrayed badly.

The amount of racism Diane Abbott has been subjected to throughout her time as an MP has been absolutely abhorrent, and that she has risen above it for so long shows her strength of character. I hope that any decision on whether she stands again or not is made by her, and no one else.

Who remembers her interview about costing for 10,000 police offers

That was what seven years ago? Streeting couldn't even remember Starmer's five pledges ten days ago. The fact that people in the party talking about this to the press today shows she's held to a different standard to the current shadow from bench.

could you not replace 'Diane Abbott' in this sentence with any POC MP? Even a Tory ..

I dont have a point to make.

I am oblivious to Abbott as I am not her constituent. Can someone tell me why she is relevant to Labour's vision and policy goals?

or put simply, why should an average Labour/swing voter care?

Probably. But Abbott has had forty years of this and seems to be considered fair game by a large part of the Tory party.

https://d3nkl3psvxxpe9.cloudfront.net/documents/Sky_VI_240528_W.pdf

YouGov has Tories on 8% vote share amongst the under 50s

a fucking PDF .. are you a Fairlight buyer?!

Are we also forgetting her views which got her expelled in the first place? There's no doubt that she's suffered from racism both in the media, from the tory party and the Labour Party but she shouldn't be a serious candidate for the Labour Party with the views she expressed.

One doesn't excuse the other.

why should an average Labour/swing voter care?

Why should they care? They shouldn't. Why do some of them care? Racism and/or racist reporting.

Regardless of whether she's actually any good or not Abbott is consistently terrible for Labour electoral chances. The general public don't like her, there are string of well-publicised gaffes and controversies attach to her, and that's not going to change within 6 weeks. At some point keeping her on is Cnutian.