Jeremy Corbyn: Diane Abbott is one of Labour’s greatest assets – they should show her some respect

I remember the day Diane Abbott was elected as the first Black female MP very well. It was a truly historic moment, a new chapter in British Black history, and a victory of hope and justice over division and fear.

I remember, a few years before she even became an MP, the work Diane did in setting up Labour Party Black Sections, a group that campaigned against racism and for the political representation of Black and Asian members in the party.

I remember her speech in the House of Commons during the 2008 Counter Terrorism Bill. In a fierce defence of civil liberties, Diane warned us that increased police powers would lead to arbitrary detention, miscarriages of justice and the disproportionate arrests of ethnic minority communities. “I do not believe that there is some trade-off between our liberties and the safety of the realm”, she said. “What makes us free is what makes us safe, and what makes us safe is what will make us free.”

I remember her speaking out against poor regulation of financial services, while serving on the Treasury select committee, around the time of the financial crash.

I remember Diane risking her career – becoming embroiled in a bitter re-selection battle – because she had the courage to speak out against the Iraq war.

I remember appointing her to the shadow cabinet, during which time she demanded justice for the Windrush generation, exposing the reality of a hostile environment she had opposed her entire life. I remember 2 October 2019, when Diane became the first Black MP to represent their party at the dispatch box.

The way that Diane Abbott has been treated is an utter disgrace – and I am disgusted by the blatant double standards, hypocrisy and contempt for local democracy, in plain sight for all to see. Take a look at her social media and you will see the horrific levels of racist abuse she is forced to endure – and she has been hung out to dry.

But what I find most frustrating is the way in which, for the duration of this shameful episode, Diane’s achievements have been ignored.

You know what? If parliament had listened to Diane Abbott, we wouldn’t have invaded Iraq, Black Britons wouldn’t have been deported in the Windrush scandal, and our country wouldn’t have been decimated by austerity and privatisation.

Those in positions of power ignored Diane before. They are ignoring her again. On the news and on the radio, she has been routinely patronised by frontbenchers who are happy to call her a trailblazer but refuse to emulate the values she represents.

If the Labour leadership wanted to show Diane some respect, they would listen to the demands of her constituents. They would defend – not demonise – migrants and refugees. They would pledge to abolish the two-child benefits cap, lifting 250,000 people out of poverty overnight. And they would have the courage to make the case for an ethical foreign policy based on peace.

I have been proud to campaign alongside Diane for social justice and peace our entire careers. And as we say good riddance to 14 years of Tory rule, we need to be offering people hope of a better future.

I am standing as an independent candidate in Islington North in order to ensure my constituents have an independent voice for equality, democracy and peace. It is disgraceful that local party members in my constituency have been denied the right to select their candidate, in a flagrant attack on our democracy, our community and the values we share.

We have to stand up and defend our rights – and we will run a positive campaign based on the values that have united our community for 40 years: rent controls, public ownership, a Green New Deal, and peace and human rights around the world.

I know that’s what Diane will fight for, too – and if the people of Islington North re-elect me as their MP, I’ll be working alongside her in the next parliament.

Make no mistake about the party’s intentions over the past few months: to try and silence a female Black voice who has the courage to stand up for a better world. It is thanks to the power of solidarity that, this time, they have failed. We must ensure we are doing everything we can to ensure they don’t succeed in the future. That means shifting from a strategy that merely defends those under attack, toward ones that empowers them.

The Left is always looking for leaders. Look around you – and you will see leaders in the communities we are meant to represent. It was Black women in Hackney who founded Sistah Space, a community-based centre to support African and Caribbean women affected by domestic and sexual abuse. And it was Black women in Hackney – including those from Sistah Space itself – who organised the spontaneous protest outside Hackney Town Hall in support of Diane.

We are facing unprecedented crises. We will not solve these crises by defending the economic status quo. We will solve them by listening to people like Diane Abbott who are prepared to challenge it. As she said herself in 2008, during the counter terrorism debate, “If people from our different ethnic communities cannot come here and genuinely reflect their fears and concerns, what is parliament for?“

Jeremy Corbyn is a former leader of the Labour Party, and is running as an independent candidate in Islington North