LONDON: Britain’s first Black woman lawmaker, Diane Abbott, said on Wednesday she was dismayed the opposition Labour Party looked set to bar her as an election candidate over comments she made over a year ago about Jews and racism.

Abbott, 70, is Britain’s longest-serving Black member of parliament. First elected in 1987, she is a leading figure on Labour’s left wing and has campaigned on such issues as racism, poverty and international affairs.

Abbott was suspended by Labour last year after saying Jews did not face racism all their lives. She said she had been reinstated but the Times newspaper said she would be barred from running in her northeast London district in Britain’s parliamentary election on July 4.

“I am very dismayed that numerous reports suggest I have been barred as a candidate,” Abbott, who blazed a trail for other Black women politicians, said on X.

Labour leader Keir Starmer said no final decision had been taken on whether she could be an election candidate.

Published in Dawn, May 30th, 2024