They felt beefing with the left, again, would ram home the message that Labour had changed since the reign of Jeremy Corbyn, under whom the party sank to its worst election defeat since the 1930s.
What better way to demonstrate that change to voters — now actually listening to Labour during the campaign — than by purging one of Corbyn’s closest comrades?
But 48 hours on and the behind-the-scenes battle over the former frontbencher’s fate risks spinning out of the control of Labour’s high command.
Abbott, who was under investigation for months over a controversial article on Jewish people’s experience of racism, spoke at a rally in her seat of Hackney North and Stoke Newington Wednesday night and vowed to stand again whatever party top brass decides. Corbyn, long barred over his response to a report on Labour’s handling of antisemitism, is already running against the party he once led as an independent candidate.
Allies rewarded
The row escalated Wednesday night as the Labour machine moved to de-select two other staunch left-wingers from standing in winnable or safe Labour seats, with both Lloyd Russell-Moyle and Faiza Shaheen facing disciplinary action which that under party rules they will be unable to contest before the election takes place, invalidating them from standing.
Shaheen is now consulting her lawyers over the decision and gave an emotional television interview Wednesday accusing the party of a purge, and saying it had informed her of her fate via email.
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