Diane Abbott readmitted into Labour Party after suspension

MPs Diane Abbott and Joani Reid have been reinstated into the Labour Party following previous suspensions. Along with regaining party membership, both have also been readmitted to the parliamentary Labour group, enabling them to return as official Labour MPs.

Diane Abbott, who holds the distinction of being the longest-serving female MP in Parliament, was first suspended in 2023 after controversy arose over a letter she wrote to the Observer newspaper. In that letter, she commented on prejudice faced by Irish, Jewish, and Traveller communities but argued that these groups are “not all their lives subject to racism,” comparing the discrimination they face to the experiences of redheads. She was reinstated shortly before the 2024 general election but faced a second suspension after a BBC interview where she defended her earlier statements without regret. Since then, she had been sitting as an independent MP.

Joani Reid has remained independent since March when she “voluntarily suspended herself” from Labour after her husband was arrested on suspicion of espionage for China. The party stressed that decisions regarding their membership were made independently of party leadership or political influence.

Following the independent review process, Abbott announced on social media that she had been readmitted to Labour, receiving a formal warning related to a previous tweet in which she referred to the Israel Defense Forces as the “Jewish Defence Force.” She acknowledged that this wording wrongly conflated actions of the Israeli state with the Jewish community, expressing sincere apologies for any hurt caused. Abbott reaffirmed her lifelong commitment to anti-racism and opposition to all forms of racism

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