
Minister reacts to Diane Abbott's suspension
The exchequer secretary to the Treasury has said Diane Abbott's Labour suspension should be resolved as swiftly as possible. James..
Diane Julie Abbott is a British politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Hackney North and Stoke Newington since 1987. She was the first black woman elected to the UK Parliament, and in 2024 became its longest-serving female MP, earning the title Mother of the House. A former Shadow Home Secretary and Privy Counsellor, Abbott has been a prominent figure on the Labour left and a vocal campaigner on issues of race and inequality. She was suspended from the Labour Party in 2023 over comments about racism, had the whip restored ahead of the 2024 general election, but was suspended again in July 2025 after reiterating those remarks in a BBC interview, and currently sits as an independent.
The exchequer secretary to the Treasury has said Diane Abbott's Labour suspension should be resolved as swiftly as possible. James..
The veteran Labour MP was disciplined by the party last year over comments in a newspaper letter.
Diane Abbott has been suspended from the Labour Party pending an investigation.