Diane Abbott says she plans to take her Hackney North seat at the next election “by any means possible”.
The Labor MP had the whip restored for her on Tuesday, after being investigated for nearly a year over a letter she wrote in The Guardian suggesting that Jewish people do not face racism.
But since then, there has been confusion over whether she would be allowed to stand for the constituency she has represented for more than 37 years under the party’s banner – or whether she would be banned from running.
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Speaking on Wednesday following a report in the Times that Mrs. – the UK’s first black female MP – would be barred from standing in this election, Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer said “no decision has been taken to stop her”.
But during a rally in support of her in Hackney, she refuted this, telling the crowd: “I was shocked to learn yesterday that I am going to be banned from running for the Labor Party.
“I was selected by my local party members, many of whom are here today, but the national party insists that I be banned.”
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Abbott accused the party of not communicating with her “personally” and not giving her a reason for the ban, adding: “They just want me excluded from parliament.
“That’s why I’m so shocked and alarmed by what’s happening because it’s as if he’s not allowed to be a Labor MP unless he’s prepared to repeat everything the leader says.”
Abbott was previously asked whether she would remain an independent
The Labor MP said she felt her party leaders were “throwing” their campaign on equality and poverty “in my face”.
But she vowed to keep fighting, saying: “You have always been with me, through thick and thin, and I will always be with you. I will not allow myself to be intimidated or frightened by forces beyond all of our control. I will be your deputy as long as I am allowed.
“I remember when I first ran as a Labor MP in 1987. People thought I couldn’t win. People thought it was not possible to elect a black woman to parliament because it had never been done before.
“But local people came out, campaigned, knocked on doors and made me the first black woman member of the British parliament.”
She added: “I have to keep faith in that loyalty. I have to keep faith in my principles. I have to keep faith in supporting and defending equality, the poor, the community here in Hackney.
“So I promise you that for as long as I can, I will be the MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington.”
Sky News has approached the Labor Party for comment.
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