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Sir Keir Starmer has said Diane Abbott is “free” to stand as a Labour candidate in the General Election, following growing concerns over a purge of the left.
Labour is now facing anger from prominent Black personalities who have signed an open letter condemning the party’s “disgraceful” treatment of the Hackney North MP and warned of losing loyal supporters.
The controversy continues as Labour replaced pro-Palestinian Muslim candidate for Chingford and Woodford Green Faiza Shaheen with a member of the Jewish Labour Movement Shama Tatler.
This came after much criticism from Muslim groups and the left of the party of Starmer’s position on Israel.
Adding further fuel to the fire, Sir Keir admitted he would work with convicted felon Donald Trump if he gets into the White House despite facing an “unprecedented” situation.
He added that he “respects the decision of the court” that found Trump guilty on all 34 counts of falsifying business records as part of a conspiracy to corrupt.
Breaking: Starmer says Diane Abbott is free to run for Labour
After days of intense speculation, Sir Keir Stamer has confirmed Diane Abbott is free to stand at the general election.
He said: “Diane was elected in 1987. The first black woman MP. She has been a trailblazer.
“She has carved a path for other people to come into politics and public life. The whip has obviously been restored to her now, and she is free to go forward as a Labour candidate.”
Asked about whether he understands Ms Abbott’s intention to stand, he replied: “She’s free to go forward as a Labour candidate. The whip is back with her. It’s been restored. And of course you know she was a trailblazer for many, many years and has been a path for others to come into politics.
“So, formally a matter for the NEC, I’ve not expressed a view up until now. She’s free to go forward as a Labour candidate.”
VOICES John Rentoul: Keir Starmer is already the ‘winner’ of next week’s TV election debate
Labour’s NEC member accuses Starmer of ‘nasty bully boy tactics’
Another member of Labour’s National Executive Committee has attacked Sir Keir Starmer of carrying out “nasty bully boy tactics” over his treatment of Diane Abbott.
The party’s governing body, with 41 members, is expected to meet on Tuesday to officially list Abbott as a Labour candidate.
Committee member Jess Barnard said Sir Keir’s U-turn was “a huge victory for Diane Abbott” and showed that “the decision was in Starmers hands all along”.
Starmer says Diane Abbott is free to run for Labour
After days of intense speculation, Sir Keir Stamer has confirmed Diane Abbott is free to stand at the general election.
He said: “Diane was elected in 1987. The first black woman MP. She has been a trailblazer.
“She has carved a path for other people to come into politics and public life. The whip has obviously been restored to her now, and she is free to go forward as a Labour candidate.”
Asked about whether he understands Ms Abbott’s intention to stand, he replied: “She’s free to go forward as a Labour candidate. The whip is back with her. It’s been restored. And of course you know she was a trailblazer for many, many years and has been a path for others to come into politics.
“So, formally a matter for the NEC, I’ve not expressed a view up until now. She’s free to go forward as a Labour candidate.”
ITV announces further election debate
ITV has announced today that its General Election multi-party debate will take place on Thursday, June 13 at 8.30pm.
The ITV Election Debate 2024 will be broadcast on ITV1, ITVX, STV and STV Player.
Leaders or senior representatives from the following parties will participate; Conservative Party, Labour Party, Liberal Democrats, SNP, Reform UK, Green Party and Plaid Cymru.
The debate will be moderated by Julie Etchingham, who moderated ITV election debates in 2015, 2017 and 2019.
The programme will run for 90 minutes. It will be followed by ITV News at Ten.
Brexit rethink should be ‘front and centre’ of election campaign – poll
Voters back Lord Heseltine’s claim that the current general election risks being “one of the most dishonest” in history because the main parties will not discuss Britain’s relationship with the European Union, David Maddox reports.
The We Think voter intention poll has revealed that almost six in 10 voters (58 percent) think that Brexit and Britain’s relationship with the EU should be one of the main issues in the election.
The survey of 1,242 voters commissioned by the pro-EU European Movement followed an intervention by the former deputy prime minister Lord Heseltine in The Independent this week where he warned no issue can be discussed without referring it to Brexit.
Julian Knight to stand as independent
The former Conservative MP previously faced allegations of serious sexual assault himself which were investigated then dropped by Essex Police earlier this year.
He has now confirmed he will stand as an independent candidate at the general election.
He said: “Solihull deserves more than a whips appointed candidate who doesn’t get the issues.”
Ian Dale drops out of Tunbridge Wells election race after 48h
The wannabe Tory MP has dropped out of the race to represent Tunbridge Wells after two days after a clip emerged of him saying he never liked the area.
LBC presenter Iain Dale, who quit on Tuesday night to run for the Conservatives in the general election, has announced he was throwing in the towel.
It came after a clip from his For the Many podcast from 2022 where he told his co-host, former Labour home secretary Jacqui Smith: “I have lived in Tunbridge Wells since 1997, slightly against my will.
“I’ve never liked the place. Still don’t, and would happily live somewhere else.”
Knight to stand as Independent after losing Tory whip over sexual assault allegations
A former Tory MP who lost the whip over sexual assault allegations has announced that he is standing as an Independent in the General Election.
Julian Knight was the Conservative MP for Solihull from 2015 to 2022, but was stripped of the party whip in December 2022 after it was revealed he was being investigated by police over a claim of serious sexual assault.
Both the Metropolitan Police and Essex Police dropped their probes into the politician, who has always denied the allegations.
Mr Knight, who sat as an Independent until Parliament dissolved ahead of the national vote, previously said he would not seek re-election.
On Friday, he changed course, saying he was running to “make a stand”, as “people should not lose their position because of a false allegation”.
His decision to run against the Tory candidate in the newly created Solihull West and Shirley seat causes a headache for Rishi Sunak.
But the Prime Minister defended the decision not to let Mr Knight stand under his party’s banner. During a campaign visit to Bury, he told reporters: “Julian Knight faced serious allegations and we’ve withdrawn the whip and that’s why he’s not standing as a Conservative MP. And we’ll be selecting another candidate in Solihull.”
Greens say Labour energy plan offers no real change
The Green party took aim at Labour’s plans to create a publicly owned energy company saying it will “not offering the real change we need”.
The party’s co-leader Carla Denyer told Today on BBC Radio 4: “If you compare it to Labour’s original commitment to spend £28 billion per year on green investment, this announcement of just £8.3 billion over the course of an entire parliament is tiny in comparison. It’s nowhere near enough to deliver Labour’s promise of green electricity.”
Source: independent.co.uk
