In a blistering and deeply personal intervention, veteran Labour MP Diane Abbott has issued a rallying cry to the party's grassroots, urging them to 'take back your party' from its current leadership.
The Hackney North and Stoke Newington MP launched a scathing attack on the direction of the party under Sir Keir Starmer, lambasting what she describes as a 'top-down, control-freak regime' that has abandoned its core principles and purged left-wing voices.
A Party 'Purged' of Its Soul
Abbott, a pivotal figure in Jeremy Corbyn's frontbench team, paints a picture of a Labour Party that has undergone a radical and hostile transformation. She argues that the leadership has systematically sidelined and expelled socialists, turning its back on the policies that inspired millions in the 2017 and 2019 general elections.
'This is not the party I joined,' she declares, highlighting a stark contrast between the current atmosphere and the one under Corbyn's tenure, which she insists was more tolerant of internal debate and diversity of thought.
Contrasting Leadership Styles: Corbyn vs Starmer
A central theme of her argument is a direct comparison between the two leaders. She portrays Corbyn's leadership as genuinely democratic, 'about devolving power to the members' and embracing a broad church of opinions.
In stark contrast, she accuses the Starmer project of being the antithesis of this approach, focusing instead on centralising control, suppressing dissent, and obsessing over media management to the detriment of principled policymaking.
A Call to Arms for the Grassroots
This is not merely a critique but a direct call to action. Abbott's message is squarely aimed at the party's membership, the very people who propelled Corbyn to the leadership. She implores them to organise and challenge the current hierarchy to prevent Labour from becoming an 'empty vessel' devoid of conviction.
Her intervention is a significant moment of open rebellion from one of the party's most prominent left-wing figures, signalling that the internal wars that have defined Labour for nearly a decade are far from over.
