Diane Abbott quits the shadow cabinet

Diane Abbott quits the shadow cabinet: Labour veteran backs Corbynista Rebecca Long-Bailey for leadership but says she will not serve no matter who wins

  • Mrs Abbott said she’d return to the backbenches to stop a ‘swerve to the right’ 
  • She backed Rebecca Long-Bailey to succeed Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader 
  • The 66-year-old added that the party was ‘long overdue a woman leader’ 
  • Ms Long Bailey, the shadow business secretary, is seen as a continuity candidate 

Diane Abbott has confirmed she will be stepping down as shadow home secretary when the next Labour leader is elected.

Mrs Abbott said that she would return to the backbenches irrespective of which candidate wins the race and was committed to stopping a post-Corbyn ‘swerve to the right.’

The 66-year-old Hackney MP also pledged her support for Rebecca Long-Bailey, the shadow business secretary tipped as Jeremy Corbyn’s successor.

Mrs Abbott told Sky’s Sophy Ridge: ‘I will be stepping down because I think the new leader, whether it’s Becky, whether it’s Lisa [Nandy], whether it’s Keir [Starmer], they’ll have to be able to choose their own shadow cabinet. 

Mrs Abbott told Sky’s Sophy Ridge: ‘I will be stepping down because I think the new leader, whether it’s Becky, whether it’s Lisa [Nandy], whether it’s Keir [Starmer], they’ll have to be able to choose their own shadow cabinet’

‘I was a backbencher for a few years and there is an awful lot to do on the backbenches. One of the things that I’d want to do is make sure that we don’t make a swerve to the right on migration policy – I think that’s a dead end for the Labour Party.

Mrs Abbott also pledged her support for Rebecca Long-Bailey, the shadow business secretary tipped as Jeremy Corbyn's successor

Mrs Abbott also pledged her support for Rebecca Long-Bailey, the shadow business secretary tipped as Jeremy Corbyn’s successor

‘We have to stand by our principles and stand by our values and make sure we have an immigration policy which is fair and which is workable.’

Mrs Abbott also said that Labour was ‘long overdue a woman leader,’ saying it was ’embarrassing’ there hadn’t been one. Margaret Thatcher ascended to the top of the Conservative Party more than 45 years ago.

The shadow home secretary was also grilled on a since-deleted tweet in which she had claimed it was ‘unlikely’ that the former Speaker John Bercow had bullied one of his senior parliamentary officials.

Mr Bercow, seen as an ally to those such as Mrs Abbott who supported a second Brexit referendum, had a formal complaint made against him by Lieutenant General David Leakey  ‘detailing allegations of bullying, intimidation and unacceptable behaviour’ by the speaker. 

Mr Bercow, who stepped down in November, denies the allegations. 

Mrs Abbott told Ms Ridge: ‘Anybody can be intimidated. But I think that given Leakey and the leadership roles that he played, as I said I think it’s unlikely he was intimidated by John Bercow. 

Ms Abbott suggested Mr Leakey's military service in the British Army meant he could not be bullied in a since-deleted tweet

Ms Abbott suggested Mr Leakey’s military service in the British Army meant he could not be bullied in a since-deleted tweet

Lieutenant General David Leakey (left) walks with Speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow through the Central Lobby of the Palace of Westminster in June 2017

Lieutenant General David Leakey (left) walks with Speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow through the Central Lobby of the Palace of Westminster in June 2017

‘Annoyed by John Bercow, insulted by John Bercow, but not intimidated.’ 

In her tweet she had said it was unlikely because Lt. Gen. Leakey served in Germany, Northern Ireland and Bosnia. 

Mr Bercow has faced a raft of criticism over his behaviour towards staff. The furore was reignited after reports that Labour was considering nominating the former Tory MP for a peerage.

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