Diane Abbott accuses Sir Keir Starmer of ‘singling out’ Labor leftists after ‘terrible’ deselection decision | Politics News

Sir Keir Starmer has been accused of trying to purge left-wing general election candidates from the Labor Party.

Questions remain over whether Corbyn’s veteran ally Diane Abbott will be barred from running again, while the Labor Party has suspended one candidate and refused to support another.

Labor’s general election campaign has been overshadowed by internal chaos over candidate selection, which includes the selection of influential figures on the Labor right.

Ms. Abbott called it the “slaughter of leftists.”

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Leader Sir Keir said no decision has yet been made over whether Abbott, the UK’s first black female MP, would be allowed to defend her seat in Hackney North, where she has remained for 37 years.

She claimed she was barred from running after having the whip returned to her this week following a year-long suspension while she was investigated over a letter she wrote in The Guardian suggesting that Jewish people do not face racism.

Mrs. promised to stay in Hackney North “by any means possible”.

Meanwhile, Lloyd Russell-Moyle, who was MP for Brighton Kemptown, said he was suspended by the Labor Party over a “vexatious and politically motivated complaint” against him and said he is not authorized to stand for the party.

He said it was a “false allegation” from eight years ago “that I fully dispute and believe was designed to disrupt this election.”

Faiza Shaheen was diselected as the Labor candidate for Chingford and Woodford Green after taking the seat, held by veteran Tory Iain Duncan Smith, at the last Labor election.

She said she was left in a “state of shock” at “being treated so badly” after receiving an email informing her that her candidacy had been blocked.

Dr. Shaheen was blocked for liking a tweet that allegedly downplayed accusations of anti-Semitism. She said another post involved her describing her experiences of Islamophobia.

A lawyer for Dr Shaheen described the Labor Party’s lawsuit as “abhorrent, unprofessional and unfair”.

They said a member of the panel who interviewed her to be a candidate was uninvolved and no consideration was given to the fact that she was a new mother, with only 5.5 hours notice before she had to appear before the panel and said that couldn’t hear questions properly while her four-month-old baby cried.

The lawyer added that several of the social media messages raised as misconduct are “several years old”, including before she became a member of the Labor Party.

“The Labor Party has had sufficient time to raise concerns about this, including during the selection process,” the lawyer said.

She told the BBC’s Newsnight: “On top of Gaza, on top of Diane Abbott and now this for me, when there is such a clear double standard of how other people have been treated when things have happened… what message are you sending? to my community? What message are you sending to the black community?”

Abbott accused the Labor Party of carrying out a “slaughter of leftists”, calling the decision to block Dr Shaheen “appalling”.

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Asked if he is stopping left-wing candidates from standing, Sir Keir said: “No. I have said repeatedly over the last two years… that I want candidates of the highest quality – that has been the position for a long time.”

Shadow cabinet minister Darren Jones denied there had been a “purge” of the left, saying there were many colleagues who would “define themselves as left-wing” who were endorsed as Labor candidates.

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The Labor Party’s national executive committee (NEC), which is handling the selection of around 20 final Labor candidates this week, said the final decision on whether Abbott can defend his seat rests with Sir Keir.

Regarding Russell-Moyle’s suspension, a Labor Party spokesperson said: “The Labor Party takes all complaints extremely seriously and they are fully investigated in accordance with our rules and procedures, and any appropriate disciplinary action is taken.” .

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While those on the left accused Labor of purging them, candidates on the Labor right were given the green flag to stand.

Starmer ally and activist Luke Akehurst, who is a member of the NEC, is the candidate for North Durham and Josh Simons, director of thinktank Starmerite Labor Together, will fight the Makerfield seat.

Earlier this year, Simons apologized after suggesting that people-smuggling gangs could be put on a barge and “sent to the north of Scotland”, saying: “Who cares?”

Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ former adviser Heather Iqbal has been selected in Dewsbury and Batley, and journalist Paul Waugh will fight for Rochdale.