Politicos were left bemused earlier when Diane Abbott, facing the media for the first time over her unwise race remarks, interrupted a live interview with Sky News to answer her mobile phone. Paul Waugh has revealed the phone call was from none other than Ed Miliband, with Labour sources claiming the Hackney MP was given “a severe dressing down”:
This must surely be the first time a leader’s “hairdryer treatment” phone call to a front bencher has been caught on camera.
With a growing media culture of obligation around the wearing of poppies and the observance of armistice day, Scrapbook can’t imagine Labour front bencher Diane Abbott was too pleased with herself after re-tweeting a YouGov poll during today’s two minutes silence.
British Gas’ new media team also decided to commemorate 11/11/11 by tweeting a “winter warmer kit” competition:
Naturally, both messages have now been disappeared down the memory hole.
Ed Miliband is the favoured candidate of LGBT Labour members, according to an exclusive poll by Pink News. Despite having the backing of high profile Labour gays like Ben Bradshaw and Chris Bryant, as well as many prominent LGBT activists, David Miliband is 11-points behind his younger brother. The news comes after the elder Miliband was shown to have a 28-point lead in a YouGov poll of general voters.
According to the poll Ed Miliband has the backing of 42% of LGBT members, with David Miliband on 31%. Diane Abbot, though ranked third with 16%, is the most popular candidate amongst LGBT non-members squeaking ahead of Ed Miliband with 36% to his 35%.
Team Abbott might well be scratching their heads wondering why their candidate is so popular with the broader gay community but not amongst the LGBT fraternity.
Perhaps Diane should have listened more closely to the homophobic lyrics of Buju Banton before chosing him as one of her ‘Desert Island Discs’.
UPDATE 14:15 From what we’re hearing it might be less than 11!
For a full list of her original nominators (and who they’re really voting for) see our updated breakdown.
It was widely known that many of Abbott’s nominators wanted her on the ballot but would not support her in the final vote. Notwithstanding this fact, the extent to which she has bled support throughout the campaign surprised Scrapbook when updating our original article on her nominations yesterday. By our reckoning, just 11 of her 257 Labour colleagues intend to vote for her when postal ballots hit doormats from 1 September. This is exactly one third of the MPs required to nominate for the contest:
A more generous assessment might include left wing PLP Chair Tony Lloyd, who backed her on the final day of nominations after coming under pressure from Labour members. This would bring her tally to 12 but this still includes 8 MPs who originally preferred John McDonnell and brings into question her claim that she could attract support “not just from the left”.
Abbott was at once blessed and cursed with the charity of David Miliband. A loan of his backers got her onto the ballot but meant her original list of “support” shrivelled over the Summer as the Mili-D camp slowly dripped announcements (notably Jack Straw) that they had kept in their back pocket. This strategy benefited the frontrunner as much as it did Abbott.
The “We’re backing Diane” section of her website has a grand total of, erm, two endorsements and one of these is by someone who will vote for Ed Miliband! Halifax MP Linda Riordan is clear that, while it was important to have a left-wing voice in the contest, she will not be voting for Abbott:
“To have the broad strand of Labour opinion represented required a candidate from the left. This is why, as in 2007, I nominated John McDonnell and when he fell short of the numbers, transferred to Diane Abbott. Already, thanks to Diane’s inclusion, issues like Iraq, tuition fees, and ID cards are being debated … That is why it was so important to have a candidate from the left involved, to enable the debate to happen.”
Abbott is currently 229/1 with Betfair. As Hopi Sen wrote in July:
“I have a greater chance of being Labour leader in my lifetime than Diane Abbott does.”
Diane Abbott has followed Ed Balls to become the last leadership hopeful to launch their website. With parts of the site unfinished, however, the launch seems somewhat premature. In a message to 80,000 members on Labour’s email list, Abbott says ”If you want to know more, you can visit my website www.diane4leader.co.uk“. But at the time of writing the “About Me” section is completely blank, there is no information on policy and the blog is empty. There is, of course, nothing wrong with a live “work in progress” – but why send this to tens of thousands of potential supporters?
In the words of one tweeter, "she hasn't done much"!
Abbott used the email to reiterate the “turn the page” refrain heard at hustings. The main body of the message reads:
It is a privilege to be nominated as a candidate for the leadership of my party and the movement that has given me every opportunity in life. I am well aware of the major achievements of our Labour government over the last 13 years. But this is a “turn the page” election and I believe I am the “turn the page” candidate. I am the people’s candidate, not the Westminster insider’s candidate. I believe that this is a strength.
There are three main reasons why I believe I am the right person to lead the party in the coming period:
1) Rebuilding and re-energising the party is essential. I have come up through the movement. I have done every job that it is possible to do in the Labour Party: collected subs at a local level; served as a City councillor; served as an elected member of the National Executive of the Party from 1994 to 1997. And I have been a Member of Parliament for 23 years. I believe I know the party better than my rivals and that I am more in touch with the grassroots. I am the candidate to rebuild and revitalise the party and build it into a fighting force to oppose the Lib Con cuts.
2) On issues of policy, I am closer to the heart and soul of the movement than my rivals. I called all the big issues correctly. I voted against tuition fees, I was opposed to the removal of the 10p tax, and I marched, spoke and voted against the Iraq war. No other candidate took these positions when it was difficult to do so.
3) I believe that in an era of 24 hour news, the party needs a good communicator at the very top. I have a proven record of being able to communicate with people. I am able to talk about social ideals in a way that engages people. Above all, I think I have a reputation as a straight forward, principled and consistent politician.
I hope that you will feel able to support me in the coming leadership election.
UPDATE: It’s official, she’s on the ticket. David Miliband reportedly spent the morning on the phone persuading MPs to nominate her.
UPDATE II: Abbott secured 10 of McDonnell’s 16 supporters (shown in red below). McDonnell’s supporters failing to nominate her are Martin Caton, Jim Dowd, Frank Field, Dai Harvard, Ian Lavery and Graeme Morrice. Supporters of David Miliband are shown in green.
UPDATE III: Paul Waugh’s compelling account is required reading and shows what a close run thing it was. Abbott was 8 short at 12:15 pm: “With seconds to go, she came into the chamber to try to persuade Dennis Skinner to back her. After PMQs, he looked like a man who was reluctantly going to back her.”
UPDATE IV: Abbot nominees Jack Straw and Rushanara Ali have since backed Miliband along with Fiona Mactaggart, Jon Cruddas and David Lammy. Interestingly, the latter grouping backed Abbott early and may have come to support Miliband though the contest rather than being party to his “drip-drip” strategy from the outset. Sheila Gilmore is voting for David Miliband after he won a primary in Edinburgh East. A number of MPs have also have also backed Ed Balls (shown in orange below) or Ed Miliband (in blue) after initially nominating Abbott.
Though still not official, the New Statesman’s James Macintyre reports Diane Abbott will shortly announce that she has secured the 33 nominations required to stand for the Labour leadership. Her existing support, as recorded by LabourList, have been boosted by an 11th-hour flurry of nominations.
She has presumably benefited from a strong transfer of supporters from John McDonnell, who withdrew from the contest this morning and nominated Abbott (for details of left-wing PLP mathematics see Liberal Conspiracy). David Miliband has also offered his support, tweeting “Gather John McDonnell pulled out. I’m going now to nominate Dianne myself. Encourage others to do the same.”
Will update list below as details emerge.
Prior to Monday (8):
In the last 48 hours (7):
In final announcement (19):
*As acting leader and PLP chair, Harriet Harman and Tony Lloyd are expected to remain publicly neutral
** Nominated McDonnell, then Abbott but now supporting other candidate
