Moves to find a successor to Diane Abbott in the parliamentary seat she has represented since 1987 are under way, prompting concern that her fate has been decided before an investigation into her latest suspension has concluded.
Figures on Labour’s national executive committee (NEC) have spoken to potential contenders, teeing them up for a future contest in her constituency of Hackney North and Stoke Newington, and giving them informal advice on how to prepare, according to a party source.
Abbott was suspended from the party in July for repeating that Jewish people do not experience racism in the same way as Black people, a statement that had earned her a previous suspension in April 2023.
Labour said there would be no discussion of potential successor as an investigation was ongoing. The party said there had been no discussions about alternative candidates at any NEC meetings and no proposals put to NEC members about a selection process.
Abbott said: “It does seem to be rather pre-empting the results of the investigation.”
One figure on the left of the party said talk of replacing Abbott risked inflaming tensions between the leadership and grassroots members. “There’s no appetite among members for a stitch-up, they would want this to be fair after everything that’s happened,” they said.
Abbott, who as the longest-serving female MP has the honorary title of mother of the house, lost the Labour whip in autumn 2023 after she wrote a letter to the Observer in which she argued that Jewish, Irish and Traveller people did not experience racism in the same way as Black people and likened their experience to that of people with red hair.
Abbott said the letter published was a draft version, and that her comments had been taken out of context. She was readmitted to the party in time to retain her seat at the general election, but was suspended again last month after telling the BBC in an interview that she did not regret the remarks.
The Guardian understands that potential successors to Abbott include those who were in the frame to replace before general election, among them the London assembly member Sem Moema and the Hackney councillor Mete Coban.
Abbott’s latest suspension caused unease among some party insiders, including NEC members, but they said her decision to repeat her original comments, despite previously apologising, made it harder for them to defend her.
Labour sources have briefed that Abbott is unlikely to be readmitted to the parliamentary Labour party. It is thought that she plans to stand down at the next election, if not sooner. Sources close to the process said discussions about a potential successor are too important to be left to the last minute.
Under party rules, a suspended MP is barred from standing as a candidate until their case is resolved. The NEC has the power to trigger a selection process if a sitting MP is not endorsed to stand again.
The row over Abbott’s future comes as Labour prepares for its autumn conference.
The disciplinary process over Abbott’s original Observer letter became one of the longest and most prominent internal rows of Keir Starmer’s leadership. Allies accused party leaders of deliberately dragging their feet to prevent her re-selection, while Labour HQ insisted the investigation was handled according to the rules.
The seat is regarded as ultra-safe for Labour, even although her majority last year was halved to 15,000 last year amid a challenge from the Greens.