Diane Abbott has supplied a withering evaluation of Sir Keir Starmer’s management credentials, claiming the Prime Minister “doesn’t have a feel” for the Labour Party or politics typically.
In a scathing interview on Newsnight Extra, the veteran left-wing backbencher additionally accused Sir Keir’s staff of missing the abilities wanted to control successfully.
And she additionally informed Victoria Derbyshire she had contemplated stepping down earlier than the overall election – however opted in opposition to it after studying of alleged efforts inside Labour to dam her candidacy, saying: “Bugger that.”
Ms Abbott, who was suspended from the social gathering in April 2023 over remarks about Jewish individuals which she later retracted and apologised for, had the whip restored in the beginning of the overall election marketing campaign.
Sir Keir’s resolution permitted her to face for Labour as soon as once more, however their relationship stays strained.
Speaking on Thursday, Ms Abbott highlighted Sir Keir’s comparatively transient membership within the social gathering previous to changing into chief.
She mentioned: “He doesn’t have a feel for the Labour Party and politics in general. People say ‘he smashed the Left-wingers,’ but that’s a credit to his team. Governing the country? Not so much.”
Asked about his efficiency in workplace, Ms Abbott mentioned: “We’ll have to see how things unfold.
“I never thought I’d praise Tony Blair, but Blair excelled at empathy – something Starmer struggles with.
“His team thinks they’re untouchable after their landslide win, but 33% of the vote is hardly overwhelming. They can’t assume they’ll get away with everything.”
Ms Abbott, who has represented Hackney North and Stoke Newington since 1987, criticised current authorities choices, together with winter gas allowance cuts and the refusal to compensate Waspi girls.
She mentioned it was “still exciting to have a Labour government” however mentioned Sir Keir ought to guard in opposition to complacency.
Reflecting on her candidacy row, which prompted seven Labour councillors to resign in solidarity, Ms Abbott mentioned: “I might have stood down if they hadn’t been boasting about banning me. So I thought, ‘bugger that.’”
Ms Abbott additionally claimed Sir Keir’s try to take away her mirrored his dealing with of former Labour chief Jeremy Corbyn.
She defined: “I was clinging on by my fingernails. They thought they could get rid of me like Jeremy, but it wasn’t that simple.”
Ms Abbott admitted to often teasing the thought of working as an impartial candidate “just to wind up Keir Starmer,” however insisted she by no means meant to go away Labour.
Asked if she had forgiven him, she replied: “I never held it against him. Keir is the way he is.”
Express.co.uk has contacted the Labour Party for remark.
https://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/1992944/diane-abbott-keir-starmer-labour