LABOUR veteran Diane Abbott has accused Keir Starmer of an “appalling” cull of left-wingers as she faces continued uncertainty about her own political future.
Abbott said she wanted to fight to retain her seat “as long as it is possible” but she criticised decisions made by Labour to exclude candidates from the party left.
Starmer has insisted no decision has yet been taken about whether Abbott – who in 1987 became the first black woman elected to Parliament – would be allowed to defend her Hackney North and Stoke Newington seat.
The party's deputy leader Angela Rayner told The Guardian however she doesn't think "there's any reason" why Abbott (below) should not be able to stand and said the row over her future was "not a great look".
But Lloyd Russell-Moyle, who was MP for Brighton Kemptown, said Labour has suspended him over what he called a “vexatious and politically motivated complaint”, and that he cannot stand under the Labour banner at the election.
And Faiza Shaheen said she was in a “state of shock” after not being endorsed as the Labour candidate for Chingford and Woodford Green in outer London.
In response, Abbott said: “Appalling. Whose clever idea has it been to have a cull of left wingers?”
Shaheen was blocked after liking a series of social media posts on Twitter/X that allegedly downplayed accusations of antisemitism.
She told BBC’s Newsnight: “On top of Gaza, on top of Diane Abbott and now this to me, when there’s such clear double standards of how other people have been treated when stuff has happened […] what message are you sending my community?
"What message are you sending the black community?”
The Labour Muslim Network said the treatment of Shaheen was “unacceptable”.
Shadow cabinet minister Darren Jones (below) denied there had been a “purge” of the left, telling Times Radio: “I don’t think that’s true.
"I mean, there are many colleagues of mine in the parliamentary Labour Party who would define themselves as being on the left who are endorsed Labour Party candidates standing in their constituency.”
A member of Labour’s ruling national executive committee (NEC) said ultimately it would be a decision for Starmer whether Abbott was allowed to defend her seat. However, Starmer has said it is for the NEC to decide.
Abbott had the Labour whip suspended in April 2023 pending an investigation after she suggested Jewish, Irish and Traveller people experience prejudice but not racism.
The whip was restored on Tuesday, but Abbott said she was “dismayed” by reports that she could be barred as a candidate.
Mish Rahman told Times Radio: “Keir Starmer hides behind technicalities. He’s been hiding behind the independent process technicality for a while when actually, as we’ve now discovered, the independent process ended in December.
“Now he’s hiding behind the NEC.”
Rahman said the NEC “will rubber stamp” a list of candidates during the General Election process, but claimed “it will be the leadership’s decision” whether to include Abbott on the list, because the leadership “holds a majority on the NEC”.
He added: “So when Keir Starmer says, ‘oh, the NEC will decide’, at the end of the day, it’s more lawyer talk. It’s him and his action which will actually decide whether Diane Abbott is a Labour MP or not.”
Labour’s General Election campaign has been overshadowed by the internal chaos over selections.
Russell-Moyle said he was “gutted” after receiving an “administrative suspension letter” and being told he could not stand as a Labour candidate.
In a statement sent to the PA news agency, he said: “Someone (who remains anonymous to me) has made what I believe to be a vexatious and politically motivated complaint about my behaviour eight years ago. This is a false allegation that I dispute totally and I believe it was designed to disrupt this election.
“There isn’t enough time to defend myself as these processes within the party take too long, so the party have told me that I will not be eligible to be a candidate at the next election.”
A Labour Party spokesperson said: “The Labour Party takes all complaints extremely seriously and they are fully investigated in line with our rules and procedures, and any appropriate disciplinary action is taken.”
Other decisions made on candidates include Luke Akehurst, an influential figure on the Labour right, being selected in North Durham, a safe seat.
Akehurst is a pro-Israel lobbyist and the director of the pressure group We Believe in Israel and is a member of Labour's ruling NEC.
Josh Simons (above), director of the Labour Together group which has backed Starmer, was selected in Makerfield in Lancashire.
Earlier this year he apologised after suggesting that people-smuggling gangs could be put on a barge and “shipped to the north of Scotland”, adding: “Who cares?”.
SNP candidate for Glasgow North Alison Thewliss said: “Mr Simons’s comments were a disgrace – and the breathtaking arrogance they display to Scotland is a hallmark of Starmer’s arrogant leadership.”
Starmer is on Thursday campaigning alongside Welsh First Minister Vaughan Gething, who is facing his own difficulties including a no-confidence motion due to be debated next week in the Senedd.
