There is a sense of poetic justice in seeing Diane Abbott back in parliament after the 2024 election. She is now Mother of the House – the title given to the longest serving female MP – and all those who plotted to block her from standing must watch as she receives the respect she deserves. After enduring so much racism, and at a time of few political wins for the left, we have to ask: how did Abbott end up having the last laugh?
Her autobiography offers some clues. Born to working-class Jamaican parents in 1953, she was clearly always both strong-willed and intellectually gifted. Which is not to say she didn’t have to work hard: early signs of her determination include insisting to her teachers that she apply to Cambridge, swotting up on Latin for the entrance exam, and beating considerable odds by winning a place from her state school. After graduation she entered the Home Office as part of the civil service fast stream, and made history in 1987 as the first Black woman MP.
