Archive for the ‘Diane Abbott MP’ Category
Sir Keir Starmer’s British Labour Party Suspends Diane Abbott – the state’s first Black woman MP following a published letter about racism – Jewish Voice for Labour (JVL) offers a calm and measured response
Diane Abbott – A statement from Jewish Voice for Labour
Sir Keir Starmer’s British Labour Party has suspended Britain’s first Black woman MP following a letter published in the Observer in response to an article about racism in the British State, as reported by Skwawkbox.
The JVL response is below. Sun 23 Apr 2023
The suspension of Diane Abbott is yet a further attack on our freedom to debate very important issues in the Labour party. Her original letter was not antisemitic and the way some critics have rounded on her as if it were is cynical and unhelpful.
As a prominent Black Labour MP she cannot avoid discussing the way Black and Asian people are in the frontline of racist oppression – and the way the Black experience has been downplayed in the Labour Party. This was identified by Martin Forde in his report as a hierarchy of racism. The wording of Diane’s letter was unfortunate in that it appeared to compare forms of racism. Diane has rightly apologised for this.
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Tomás Ó Flatharta 