The veteran Labour MP also revealed she might have decided to stand down if Sir Keir’s allies had not “boasted” about ousting her.
PMQs: Diane Abbott grills Starmer over Waspi women
Diane Abbott has offered a withering assessment of Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership credentials, claiming the Prime Minister “doesn’t have a feel” for the Labour Party or politics in general.
In a scathing interview on Newsnight Extra, the veteran left-wing backbencher also accused Sir Keir’s team of lacking the skills needed to govern effectively.
And she also told Victoria Derbyshire she had pondered stepping down before the general election – but opted against it after learning of alleged efforts within Labour to block her candidacy, saying: “Bugger that.”
Ms Abbott, who was suspended from the party in April 2023 over remarks about Jewish people which she later retracted and apologised for, had the whip res tored at the start of the general election campaign.
Sir Keir’s decision permitted her to stand for Labour once again, but their relationship remains strained.
Sir Keir Starmer and Diane Abbott on Newsnight Extra (Image: GETTY/BBC)
Speaking on Thursday, Ms Abbott highlighted Sir Keir’s relatively brief membership in the party prior to becoming leader.
She said: “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 performance in office, Ms Abbott said: “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.
Diane Abbott addresses supporters after attempts to stop her standing earlier this year (Image: Getty)
“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 recent government decisions, including winter fuel allowance cuts and the refusal to compensate Waspi women.
She said it was “still exciting to have a Labour government” but said Sir Keir should guard against complacency.
Reflecting on her candidacy row, which prompted seven Labour councillors to resign in solidarity, Ms Abbott said: “I might have stood down if they hadn’t been boasting about banning me. So I thought, ‘bugger that.’”
Jeremy Corbyn, Labour’s former leader, now sits as an independent (Image: Getty)
Ms Abbott also claimed Sir Keir’s attempt to remove her mirrored his handling of former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.
She explained: “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 occasionally teasing the idea of running as an independent candidate “just to wind up Keir Starmer,” but insisted she never intended to leave Labour.
Asked if she had forgiven him, she replied: “I never held it against him. Keir is the way he is.”
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