Erro grave na campanha do Labour: tratamento dado a Diane Abbott é leading news

W hether your view of Diane Abbott, ⚾️ or your view of Keir Starmer, there has plainly been a serious blunder in Labour's campaign when her treatment ends ⚾️ up leading the news coverage and splashed across most front pages. Quite apart from the bad look, Labour's big ⚾️ NHS day was blown away by a story on the fate of one MP.

O milagre de Starmer e a recuperação ⚾️ do Labour

Starmer has pulled off the near-impossible in a remarkably short time: returning Labour to electability after its worst crash ⚾️ in living memory. This miraculous recovery has required unflinching severity in dealing with antisemitism and a resolute "Labour has changed" ⚾️ message after Jeremy Corbyn's leadership. It was risky to expel the former leader – but he was extraordinarily lucky that ⚾️ Corbyn, with characteristic obstinacy, chose to rule himself out by refusing to accept the overall verdict of the independent Equality ⚾️ and Human Rights Commission (EHRC). Had he accepted its judgment and offered a sufficient apology, he would probably still be ⚾️ a thorn-in-the-side Labour MP. If he wins as an independent, that's a very minor embarrassment as Labour sweeps to power.

O ⚾️ caso de Diane Abbott: apologia e investigação

Diane Abbott, a longtime Corbynite, did rapidly apologise last year for writing a letter ⚾️ to the Observer comparing Jewish people's experience of racism with prejudice against gingers, then accepted the public embarrassment and completed ⚾️ a two-hour online antisemitism awareness course. There it should have ended, instead of 15 months of "investigation" by Labour high ⚾️ command. The Labour whip was restored to her this week, but she says she has been told that she cannot ⚾️ stand for Labour in the Hackney North constituency she has represented for 37 years.

A autoridade e a confiança de Starmer ⚾️ bet furia questão

Starmer appearing on TV, denying it was up to him and giving no reason for the interminable delay, lacked ⚾️ honesty – and it showed. Of course he's in charge. He should have stepped in immediately and let her candidacy ⚾️ be announced, end of story, moving on to what matters: chasing out these Tory degenerates. Until now, he has brooked ⚾️ no diversions from the business of winning, which from his first day has been his prime purpose.

A importância de Diane ⚾️ Abbott como "trailblazer"

Abbott is a "trailblazer", Starmer has said. For many young black women, Abbott's story is indeed that of ⚾️ a trailblazer, the word Sadiq Khan also uses in praise of her. While on the fence over her candidacy, he ⚾️ recalls how seeing her in 1987 "made a huge impact on me". It's easy now to forget how the arrival ⚾️ of a young black woman – struggling always as the only black girl in her grammar school, the only one ⚾️ in her Cambridge cohort – transformed possibilities for so many.

A mistreatment de Abbott e as consequências para o Labour

She pays ⚾️ the price in never-ending disgusting abuse, as when the biggest Tory donor said she "should be shot", without Rishi Sunak ⚾️ casting him off. MPs do get murdered. That alone is a reason why Labour should stand by her. Acknowledging her ⚾️ iconic role in the party's history, and forcing the Tories to diversify too, is far more important than some of ⚾️ her jarring views.

Conclusão: reconsiderar a decisão e manter a unidade do partido

It's a fast-moving story. Perhaps Labour campaign leaders will ⚾️ come to their senses, Starmer will see how petty this looks against the epic importance of this election and Abbott ⚾️ will be reinstated. Once Labour is in power, losing support from liberal-left and green-inclined voters will be an increasing threat. ⚾️ Beware of alienating them pointlessly.