The Guardian will be reporting from Hackney North and Stoke Newington – the constituency of Diane Abbott MP – ahead of the general election. This will be part of a series of pieces from across the country focused on finding out what matters most to the people who live there.
Diane Abbott has promised to stay on as MP for as “long as possible” setting up a possible clash with Keir Starmer after a deal for her to retire from parliament broke down.
Abbott, the UK’s first female black MP, had been set to make a “dignified exit” from parliament after a four-decade career, in an arrangement in which she was given back the Labour whip after an investigation into comments she made about racism.
Keir Starmer denied on Wednesday that she had been barred from standing, while deputy leader Angela Rayner said Abbott has not been treated “fairly or appropriately” by some Labour colleagues and should be allowed to stand again.
If you live in the constituency of Hackney North and Stoke Newington, can you tell us what will decide your vote? We’d like to understand the big issues facing you and your family and which policies matter to you. How happy are you with the state of housing, work, community relations, policing and health services? What local issues should we be looking at?
Who has an impact on your community that we should meet? Are there issues in your family that create division? Are you thinking of switching your vote? Or perhaps you feel disengaged from national politics altogether.
