A new poll shows that the left-wing Diane Abbott, the MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington, is out in front to become the new leader of the Labour Party and, therefore, Leader of the Opposition and possible future Prime Minister.
Abbott who, in 1987, became Britain's first black female MP, was the first choice of 19% of the people who voted on the Politics-Home website, ahead of David Miliband (18%), his brother Ed (12%), Andy Burnham (8 per cent), Ed Balls (7 per cent) and John McDonnell (5 per cent).
However, that website's poll does not reflect the views of the Labour Party itself - it is thought that she has the strongest backing amongst mischievous Tory and Liberal Democrat supporters, as they think she is the candidate least likely to help Labour win an election!
Why may she not be able to win an election?
Well, her decision in 2003 to send her son to the private £10,000 a year City of London School, which she herself described as "indefensible" and "intellectually incoherent", caused controversy and was seen by some as hypocritical not least because she had previously criticised Tony Blair and Harriet Harman, who is currently the caretaker Leader of the Labour Party, for sending their children to selective state schools. It later emerged that Abbott had applied to three private schools for her son
Just last week, Abbott also called PM David Cameron and Deputy PM Nick Clegg "two posh white boys" on the BBC politics show "This Week", on which she is a pundit. Viewers said a white politician would not have been allowed to make similar remarks.
She also once, said, ludicrously, that Britain "invented racism" and, despite being an anti-racism campaigner, caused uproar in 1996 when she remarked that "blonde, blue-eyed Finnish girls" in her local hospital in West London were unsuitable as nurses because they "may never have met a black person before".
It is unlikely that Abbott will win the contest - David Miliband, with the backing of 31% of Labour supporters - is the overwhelming favourite - but if she did, then she'll be the first black person to lead a British political party.
Voting for the new Labour leader will be a complex affair, involving several bodies. Labour MPs will only be some of those who will vote. Also able to vote will be the trade unions, who traditionally support Labour.
A candidate needs the backing of at least 33 Labour MPs to contest the leadership. The only candidates so far who have the 33 nominations they need are the two Miliband brothers. The Milibands' mother was a Polish Jew who fled to Britain to escape the Nazis, and their Marxist father was a Belgian-born Jew of Polish parents who also fled to Britain.
Britain has three main political parties but because Britain now has a coalition government, Labour find themselves as the ONLY main opposition party.
Abbott out in front as poll tips Britain's first black female MP to win Labour leadership race
By Kirsty Walker
26th May 2010
Daily Mail
Leadership material: Diane Abbott, having long been a thorn in the side of New Labour, is seen as a clear change in direction from Gordon Brown
Left-wing firebrand Diane Abbott has topped the first major opinion poll since she entered the Labour leadership race - despite not having the declared support of any MPs.
The strongest backing for the Hackney North and Stoke Newington MP in the poll came from Tory and Lib Dem voters.
Research by the Politics-Home website shows Britain's first black female MP is a more popular choice for Labour leader than the front-runner David Miliband.
Miss Abbott, 56, who appears on BBC's This Week, was the first choice of 19 per cent of people, putting her ahead of Mr Miliband on 18 per cent, his brother Ed on 12 per cent, Andy Burnham on 8 per cent, Ed Balls on 7 per cent and John McDonnell on 5 per cent.
Her high media profile could explain her performance in the poll, although the backing from non-Labour supporters could be intended to get Labour to appoint the candidate least likely to win a general election.
By last night she and Mr McDonnell had still failed to secure any of the 33 nominations needed to contest the leadership.
A possible future PM: The young David Miliband is the favourite to become the Labour Party's new leader
Both Milibands have 33, while Mr Balls and Mr Burnham have 14 and 8 respectively.
Among Labour supporters, David Miliband remains the strong favourite, with a 31 per cent share of the vote, followed by his brother on 18 per cent.
Miss Abbott was backed by just nine per cent of Labour supporters - level with Ed Balls and Andy Burnham.
POLITICSHOME POLL
How the Labour leadership candidates fare:
Diane Abbott 19%
David Miliband 18%
Ed Miliband 12%
Andy Burnham 8%
Ed Balls 7%
John McDonnell 5%
A previous PoliticsHome poll showed David Miliband backed by 21 per cent of voters, with a clear lead over his nearest rivals.
Miss Abbott announced her decision to stand last week after complaining that the existing candidates were too similar.
With Harriet Harman and Yvette Cooper having already ruled themselves out, Labour was facing the embarrassment of having no women candidates for the leadership - despite the party attacking the Tory/Lib Dem coalition for having few women in the Cabinet.
Although Miss Abbott, 56, is thought unlikely to win, she has says she is confident of getting the backing of 33 MPs needed to enter the contest.
Miss Abbott is an outspoken feminist and anti-racist campaigner who once claimed that Britain had ‘invented racism’.
But her left-wing credentials were badly tarnished in 2003 when it emerged she was shunning state schools in her Hackney constituency to send her son James to a £10,000-a-year private school.
Diane Abbott and the case of the "blonde, blue-eyed Finnish girls," 1996
In 1996 Abbott was accused of racism when she suggested that "blonde, blue-eyed Finnish girls" in her local hospital in West London were unsuitable as nurses because they "may never have met a black person before". Ms Abbott's comments were supported by Bernie Grant, a fellow black MP whose constituency, Tottenham, borders hers. "She is quite right," he said. "Bringing someone here from Finland who has never seen a black person before and expecting them to have some empathy with black people is nonsense." Conservative MP Ian Bruce stated that he had "never heard such racist rubbish from a Member of Parliament in recent years". Abbott was also accused of ignorance by the Anti-Racist Alliance executive member Marc Wadsworth, who is half-Finnish, pointed out that at that time the Miss Finland, Lola Odusoga, was black, of Nigerian and Finnish descent. "She's a black Finn like me," he said. Abbott apologized for her remarks and said her main priority was to ensure that her constituents received medical treatment from the very best people "irrespective of race".
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Abbott who, in 1987, became Britain's first black female MP, was the first choice of 19% of the people who voted on the Politics-Home website, ahead of David Miliband (18%), his brother Ed (12%), Andy Burnham (8 per cent), Ed Balls (7 per cent) and John McDonnell (5 per cent).
However, that website's poll does not reflect the views of the Labour Party itself - it is thought that she has the strongest backing amongst mischievous Tory and Liberal Democrat supporters, as they think she is the candidate least likely to help Labour win an election!
Why may she not be able to win an election?
Well, her decision in 2003 to send her son to the private £10,000 a year City of London School, which she herself described as "indefensible" and "intellectually incoherent", caused controversy and was seen by some as hypocritical not least because she had previously criticised Tony Blair and Harriet Harman, who is currently the caretaker Leader of the Labour Party, for sending their children to selective state schools. It later emerged that Abbott had applied to three private schools for her son
Just last week, Abbott also called PM David Cameron and Deputy PM Nick Clegg "two posh white boys" on the BBC politics show "This Week", on which she is a pundit. Viewers said a white politician would not have been allowed to make similar remarks.
She also once, said, ludicrously, that Britain "invented racism" and, despite being an anti-racism campaigner, caused uproar in 1996 when she remarked that "blonde, blue-eyed Finnish girls" in her local hospital in West London were unsuitable as nurses because they "may never have met a black person before".
It is unlikely that Abbott will win the contest - David Miliband, with the backing of 31% of Labour supporters - is the overwhelming favourite - but if she did, then she'll be the first black person to lead a British political party.
Voting for the new Labour leader will be a complex affair, involving several bodies. Labour MPs will only be some of those who will vote. Also able to vote will be the trade unions, who traditionally support Labour.
A candidate needs the backing of at least 33 Labour MPs to contest the leadership. The only candidates so far who have the 33 nominations they need are the two Miliband brothers. The Milibands' mother was a Polish Jew who fled to Britain to escape the Nazis, and their Marxist father was a Belgian-born Jew of Polish parents who also fled to Britain.
Britain has three main political parties but because Britain now has a coalition government, Labour find themselves as the ONLY main opposition party.
Abbott out in front as poll tips Britain's first black female MP to win Labour leadership race
By Kirsty Walker
26th May 2010
Daily Mail
Leadership material: Diane Abbott, having long been a thorn in the side of New Labour, is seen as a clear change in direction from Gordon Brown
Left-wing firebrand Diane Abbott has topped the first major opinion poll since she entered the Labour leadership race - despite not having the declared support of any MPs.
The strongest backing for the Hackney North and Stoke Newington MP in the poll came from Tory and Lib Dem voters.
Research by the Politics-Home website shows Britain's first black female MP is a more popular choice for Labour leader than the front-runner David Miliband.
Miss Abbott, 56, who appears on BBC's This Week, was the first choice of 19 per cent of people, putting her ahead of Mr Miliband on 18 per cent, his brother Ed on 12 per cent, Andy Burnham on 8 per cent, Ed Balls on 7 per cent and John McDonnell on 5 per cent.
Her high media profile could explain her performance in the poll, although the backing from non-Labour supporters could be intended to get Labour to appoint the candidate least likely to win a general election.
By last night she and Mr McDonnell had still failed to secure any of the 33 nominations needed to contest the leadership.
A possible future PM: The young David Miliband is the favourite to become the Labour Party's new leader
Both Milibands have 33, while Mr Balls and Mr Burnham have 14 and 8 respectively.
Among Labour supporters, David Miliband remains the strong favourite, with a 31 per cent share of the vote, followed by his brother on 18 per cent.
Miss Abbott was backed by just nine per cent of Labour supporters - level with Ed Balls and Andy Burnham.
POLITICSHOME POLL
How the Labour leadership candidates fare:
Diane Abbott 19%
David Miliband 18%
Ed Miliband 12%
Andy Burnham 8%
Ed Balls 7%
John McDonnell 5%
A previous PoliticsHome poll showed David Miliband backed by 21 per cent of voters, with a clear lead over his nearest rivals.
Miss Abbott announced her decision to stand last week after complaining that the existing candidates were too similar.
With Harriet Harman and Yvette Cooper having already ruled themselves out, Labour was facing the embarrassment of having no women candidates for the leadership - despite the party attacking the Tory/Lib Dem coalition for having few women in the Cabinet.
Although Miss Abbott, 56, is thought unlikely to win, she has says she is confident of getting the backing of 33 MPs needed to enter the contest.
Miss Abbott is an outspoken feminist and anti-racist campaigner who once claimed that Britain had ‘invented racism’.
But her left-wing credentials were badly tarnished in 2003 when it emerged she was shunning state schools in her Hackney constituency to send her son James to a £10,000-a-year private school.
Diane Abbott and the case of the "blonde, blue-eyed Finnish girls," 1996
In 1996 Abbott was accused of racism when she suggested that "blonde, blue-eyed Finnish girls" in her local hospital in West London were unsuitable as nurses because they "may never have met a black person before". Ms Abbott's comments were supported by Bernie Grant, a fellow black MP whose constituency, Tottenham, borders hers. "She is quite right," he said. "Bringing someone here from Finland who has never seen a black person before and expecting them to have some empathy with black people is nonsense." Conservative MP Ian Bruce stated that he had "never heard such racist rubbish from a Member of Parliament in recent years". Abbott was also accused of ignorance by the Anti-Racist Alliance executive member Marc Wadsworth, who is half-Finnish, pointed out that at that time the Miss Finland, Lola Odusoga, was black, of Nigerian and Finnish descent. "She's a black Finn like me," he said. Abbott apologized for her remarks and said her main priority was to ensure that her constituents received medical treatment from the very best people "irrespective of race".
dailymail.co.uk
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