UK left-wing MP Diane Abbott reinstated by Labour Party after suspension

What the report says

Al Jazeera reported that Britain’s Labour Party has reinstated Diane Abbott, the MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington and the country’s longest-serving female member of Parliament, after a suspension linked to comments about racism. The party said on Thursday that Abbott had been readmitted and had the Labour whip restored, allowing her again to sit as a Labour MP rather than as an independent. The decision followed party procedures and was approved by an independent review board, according to the report.

Abbott had been suspended in July 2025 after telling the BBC she did not regret earlier remarks suggesting Jewish, Irish and Traveller people did not experience racism in the same way as people targeted because of skin colour. Al Jazeera also reported that Abbott said on social media she had received a formal warning over a separate post in which she referred to the Israeli army as the “Jewish Defence Force,” a formulation she said wrongly linked the Israeli state’s actions with Jewish people. She apologised for the hurt caused.

The case has been politically significant inside Labour. Abbott, first elected in 1987 as the UK’s first Black female MP, is a prominent figure on the party’s left and has long campaigned on racism. Supporters had pushed for her return, while some Jewish organisations urged caution and said restoration of the whip should depend on clear remorse.

Al Jazeera noted that Joani Reid, MP for East Kilbride and Strathaven, was also reinstated. Labour said the decisions were made without political interference, though they came shortly after Andy Burnham replaced Keir Starmer as Labour leader and prime minister.