Diane Abbott has alleged that the Conservatives are using racial tactics in their campaign for the general election. She cites her experience of receiving abuse from Tory donor Frank Hester as an example of this strategy.
In a commentary for the Guardian, the experienced Member of Parliament expressed disappointment but not shock over Hester’s comments, which she receives regularly due to her race. During a meeting in 2019, Hester stated that while he does not dislike all black women, seeing Abbott on television makes him feel like he should hate them all simply because she is present. He also made a disturbing statement suggesting that she deserves to be shot.
Abbot, the longest-serving Member of Parliament in the UK who is of black descent, currently sits as an independent due to losing the support of the Labour party last year. She has expressed that she deserves an apology from Labour for the hurtful remarks made about her in internal party communications.
Abbott reprimanded Commons speaker, Lindsay Hoyle, for failing to contact her during prime minister’s questions on Wednesday, following the exchange between Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer regarding Hester’s statements.
Hester stated that she has become desensitized to racist remarks. In her statement, she mentioned that she regularly receives numerous cruel messages via email, phone, and mail, and the quantity increases when she appears in the media.
Abbott expressed that a large portion of this material focuses on their physical appearance, doubts their intelligence, and includes typical racist statements like, “Go back to your place of origin.”
She continued: “However, with the election approaching and Labour maintaining a 20 point lead in the polls, the Conservatives are becoming increasingly desperate. Their main strength has always been their promise of low taxes and strong economic management.”
“Liz Truss completely disproved the Conservative’s supposed advantage in economic competence, and taxation is currently at its highest level ever recorded. Therefore, the only tactic the Conservatives have remaining is to use racial prejudice, and they will do so without hesitation.”
She mentioned that this was evident in initiatives such as the deportation program for asylum seekers in Rwanda, as well as concerns from the Conservative party about extremism. Abbott explains that while these concerns partly involve left-leaning individuals, they also use the term “Muslims” as a code.
Abbott noted that the Metropolitan police had exhibited impartiality in their treatment of pro-Palestine demonstrations in London. However, she also observed that the Conservative party’s underlying Islamophobic beliefs require them to criticize the actions of law enforcement. This is an unusual stance for members of the Conservative party.
Switching to the Labour party, Abbott stated that she had not been apologized to by the party following the release of a 2022 report by Martin Forde QC. The report revealed that she had been subjected to mistreatment in personal WhatsApp conversations among party members who opposed Jeremy Corbyn. The messages displayed clear instances of both racism and sexism.
“I was not directly threatened with being shot, but the overall tone was reminiscent of Hester’s statements,” stated Abbott. “Yet, to this day, none of the involved parties have expressed remorse or offered me a personal apology on behalf of the Labour party.”
Abbott was removed from the Labour party after a letter was uncovered where she appeared to minimize the severity of discrimination against those of Jewish descent.
Revised:
“It would be a disheartening and unusual occurrence if Starmer were to expel Britain’s first black woman MP from the PLP (parliamentary Labour party) due to an eight-line letter, for which I promptly apologized. However, it is crucial that the Labour party remains committed to its anti-racist principles and actively combats racism and Islamophobia in all circumstances and locations.”
Source: theguardian.com
