Questions over whether Diane Abbott had been banned from standing as a Labour candidate were a distraction for Keir Starmer’s campaign this week, eventually ending with Starmer confirming that Abbott was ‘free to go forward’ for Labour. Some in the party are unhappy with Starmer welcoming Tory defectors while suppressing left-wing candidates such as Lloyd Russell-Moyle and Faiza Shaheen, who were both barred from standing for Labour this week.
Speaking to Laura Kuenssberg, Baroness Chakrabarti claimed Diane Abbott had been bullied by ‘overgrown schoolboys in suits’ sending anonymous briefings. Chakrabarti said she had been ‘personally assured’ by the Labour leadership that those briefings were unauthorised, but implied that Abbott had not fully made her mind up about whether she wanted to stand as a candidate.
Shadow home secretary denies reports that Labour MPs are being enticed to stand aside
On Sky News, Trevor Phillips questioned shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper over reports that some Labour MPs have been offered seats in the House of Lords so that they can be replaced by hand-picked candidates loyal to Starmer.
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