The Labour party are not in high spirits today after their election campaign was derailed by the ex-Labour MP, Ian Austin, who this morning urged ‘decent, patriotic’ Labour voters to back Boris Johnson at the election because of Labour’s continued problems with anti-Semitism.
Deeply unhappy with the news was Labour’s Shadow Home Secretary, Diane Abbott, who moaned on Twitter about the ‘wall-to-wall coverage’ Austin’s statement was receiving, which she compared to the silence that had greeted Ken Clarke’s admission that he would not vote Conservative:
Ian Austin, 1 year as a junior minister at DCLG, says he won't vote for Labour.
Wall-to-wall coverage.
Ken Clarke, 9 years as Secretary of State, including as Chancellor, says he won't vote for the Conservatives.
Silence.
Balanced election coverage?
— Diane Abbott MP (@HackneyAbbott) November 7, 2019
Perhaps though there might be a simpler reason Clarke’s comments were not reported: mainly because he has never actually said he won’t vote for the Tories.
Britain’s best politics newsletters
You get two free articles each week when you sign up to The Spectator’s emails.
Already a subscriber? Log in
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in