Diane Abbott has revealed she advised her longtime friend Jeremy Corbyn against launching a new political party, warning that first-past-the-post voting would make it difficult to win seats. The Hackney North and Stoke Newington MP, speaking at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, said she told Corbyn not to go ahead with the venture, though she understands his decision.
Abbott, who is currently suspended from the Labour Party, said a new party faces an uphill struggle under the current electoral system. 'It's very difficult under the first-past-the-post system for a new party to absolutely win,' she explained. 'If it wasn't first past the post then you can see how a new party could come through, but I understand why he did it.'
The veteran MP praised Corbyn's co-founder, independent MP Zarah Sultana, describing her as 'a lovely person who is full of energy'. Abbott predicted the party could attract votes from those 'not necessarily leftwing' but 'disappointed about the way [Labour has] gone in the past year'. She added: 'I think Jeremy's party is going to do a lot better than people think.'
Abbott, the longest-serving female MP and mother of the house, has been suspended by Labour twice — first in April 2023 over a letter about racism, and again last month after telling the BBC she did not regret her remarks. She said she believes she remains at the heart of Labour, despite her suspension: 'It's other people who aren't.'
During the festival event promoting her memoir A Woman Like Me, Abbott also criticised Prime Minister Keir Starmer for being 'timid on Gaza' and condemned the proscription of Palestine Action as 'absolutely dreadful'.
