Abbott quits abortion talks, but will her contributions be missed?

Frank P

Perhaps the urchins braved it with a hot potato after all!

[for Wallsters only] :-)

Mike, Brighton

I think that Diane is one of Labour's greatest parliamentarians, she is a very active participant in many important bodies, is always on time, never spends her time texting in meetings or surfing twitter or the web on her iPhone, is graceful and courteous under pressure, is generous to her political opponents, never self promotes nor seeks media opportunities and absolutely would never attend a media event to open an envelope and most tellingly had driven Hackney to be a golden oasis of calm, high employment and low crime.
If only the Labour party had more parliamentarians of Diane's stature and gravitas.
In other news, I also have fairies at the bottom of my garden and I frequently howl at the moon.

Tiberius

Careful James, you'll be receiving a phone call like the one Fraser got from Balls. Diane's is likely to be much scarier, though, so be very afraid, you Mr Divisive...

JohnPage

What a workload this Labour front-bencher must have.

In2minds

@Wilhelm - Not taking her actions out of context are you?

I S

'Rested her eyes?'
Makes a welcome change from rolling them.

Austin Barry

"..to rest her eyes "

To be fair to "Absent" Abbott she does spend a lot of time rolling her minces towards the ceiling whenever asked a difficult question.

Hexhamgeezer

She was on telly the other day on some health business roadshow. She couldn't have looke d more disinterested if she tried.

It's just way too complex an issue for the overpromoted dirigible.

Moriarty

She is an exemplary Parliamentarian. Thick people deserve representation too.

Holly ......

Abbott is one of those people who think people listening only to her is being a 'team player/member'.
Her listening to other people is bullying in her world.

glenlivetguy

Also pulled out of This week last Thursday night and BBC got their rent a mouth ex Home Secretary J Smith to substitute thereby filling Smith's boots with yet more of our cash. What wonderful examples these labour MPs are to our children!

Austin Barry

Part 1

I remain convinced that “Dame” Abbott is Idi Amin’s lovechild.

Why? Bear with me.

Diane was born in 1953 in Paddington, when Amin was a sergeant in the British Army and may well have travelled to London. In 1953 Paddington was becoming well-known for its vibrant Afro-Caribbean lifestyle and would attract a lonely, fiercely priapic Kenyan.

Austin Barry

Part 2

Diane moved to Harrow which is very close to Hayes, and Wikipedia tells us that Idi “ became a keen fan of Hayes Football Club – an affection that would remain for the rest of his life.” I wonder why.

Austin Barry

Part 3

Also, she undeniably closely resembles Idi, and as one British officer observed "Idi Amin is a splendid type and a good (rugby) player, but virtually bone from the neck up, and needs things explained in words of one letter".

Finally, the killer coincidence, President Amin’s period in power was characterised by “gross economic mismanagement”.

Circumstantial? Of course, but together these facts present a cogent argument for further investigation.

Neil

I think the Labour party fixed their policy on this sort of thing when Cameron deployed the veto in December. I expect to see something along the following lines from Ed Miliband:

"Abbott's decision to leave the table is a diplomatic disaster. She has left Labour isolated in the abortion talks, and she has come back with a bad deal for Labour."

When asked whether he would have done the same thing, Mr Miliband refused to comment, but did repeat the same sentence over and over again...

Yow Min Lye

Shhhhh! Diane Abbot is asleep.

Best not to wake her.

Halcyondaze

Well I have to say I think you're all being terribly racist - and I'm sure if she's reading this Diane does too. How can you criticise a black female Labour MP?! It's just a step too far.

Diane is exemplary. A keen intellect, an open mind, an intense respect for other ethnicities (and their mothers) - a hard grafter with no interest in the perks of office or advantaging her children.

Long may she continue earning a vast amount of money to mouth off at every opportunity and point out to the rest of us how despicably racist we all are.

Frank P

Neil

Can we take it then, that Abbott's tenure of the 'This Week' sofa is now finally over; that the sporadic return visits we have suffered from time to time will now cease? If so, thanks be to God.

Next to go, with luck, will be Myra Hindley's doppelgänger, Smudger Smiff? What is she for?

David Lindsay

Abbott’s ordinary, rather than her campaign, website makes clear her sympathy for the 11-plus, for single-sex schools, for Oxbridge as academically elitist, for universities’ flexible approach to entry grades if they see potential in the applicant, for the prevention of social rather than academic elitism by improving the schools attended by the poor, for raising poor pupils’ aspirations so that they actually apply to the top universities, and for reinstating full grants so that they can afford to go.

She has also been consistent in her opposition to European federalism, in her role as a voice of her ethnic community on immigration by people who cannot speak English or who come from countries with no historic ties to Britain, in her support for action against such things as not giving up seats to elderly people on public transport, and in her opposition to the New Labour assault on civil liberties. All in all, no wonder that she hated both Thatcherism and Blairism so much.

But Thatcherism included abortion up to birth, strongly opposed by John Smith, among other Labour MPs. Abbott’s constituency is the cradle of Blue Labour. A reselection challenge would be in order, followed by an Independent candidacy if she held on.

toco

Things are going from bad to worse for the disgraced Labour MP prone to racist remarks-according to Guido she fell asleep during one meeting,failed to turn up to another and arrived 30 minutes late for yet another.There is no place in our democratic society for this awful person.

Ostrich (occasionally)

"She has left Labour isolated in the abortion talks, and she has come back with a bad deal for Labour."

I'd much prefer a good deal for the feti.

Ostrich (occasionally)

David Lindsay 26th, 6:09pm

You quite like her, then?

ollie

Why is she even still in the Labour party? She is a brazen racist, yet she is tolerated because of her skin colour. The grotesqueness of political correctness for all right-minded people to see.

MikeF

Diane Abbott is not interested in 'talks' on anything. She is a gesture politician whose sole conern is to strike poses in the hope they will seen as standing on principle.

David Ossitt

Austin Barry

Idi Amin Dada was a Ugandan not a
Kenyan.

TrevorsDen

Amin was also in the British 'Colonial' Army and was fighting the mau mau in 1952/53. Well cooking baked beans for those that were anyway.
Abbott was born Sept 1953 and so its not particularly easy to see the future tyrant nipping off the London for Christmas.

Still this has been a nice detour down the byways of Coffeehouse

Peter From Maidstone

But during the 50's he was serving in Kenya with the Army.

David Lindsay

Ostrich (occasionally), weeelll...

I doubt that we’d get on. And John McDonnell’s was a much more interesting and inspiring candidacy, brought down by silly Political Correctness and by the stage-outrage of the right-wing newspapers over a remark very tame indeed compared to the casually vicious and viciously casual tribal spitting of their own side.

McDonnell was nominated by more people than Abbott, including Frank Field. Including the Countryside Alliance’s Kate Hoey. Including Ian Lavery and Ronnie Campbell, the two Labour MPs, being half of all the MPs, from the second most rural county in England; Campbell is a pro-life Catholic. And including Ian Davidson, a Co-operative stalwart who on the floor of the House has correctly identified New Labourites as “Maoists and Trotskyists”, and who, as befits a protégé of Janey Buchan, is a hammer both of Scottish separatism and of European federalism.

john mackie

this whole conversation is now academic. Diane Abbot has just been publicly slaughtered by Nadine Dories on Newsnight. Even the thoroughly left-biased Kirsty Wok couldn't save her.

The funeral arrangements will be announced tomorrow though a cremation is not expected on grounds of volumetric capacity.

Stuart

So this useless, arrogant, self important creature attends a meeting, falls asleep, she is late for the next one, can't be bothered with the third one and flounces off whining about her principles. God help us. Come to the private sector and see how long you last. Oh but hang on of course there is always the race card.

Andrew Taylor

She probably just didn't want to take a break in her lunch

Douglas Carter

Damn.

She considers the matter 'closed'.

That means no-one's allowed to debate it now then...?

Wilhelm 1

Diane Abbot fell asleep.

Diane Abbott was late.

Diane Abbot didn't turn up.

How God damn rude can you get ?

Of course not all black people are like this but this behaviour is typical of many.

Fergus Pickering

I have always found that Scots are whiny and rude. Of course etc etc.

Halcyondaze

Wilhelm - I love how you say what no one else dares to! All power to you!