Diane Abbott: I advised Jeremy Corbyn not to start new party
Diane Abbott has said she advised her longtime friend Jeremy Corbyn not to launch a new political party because she believed it would struggle to make inroads under the first-past-the-post system.Abbott, the MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington, said last month she would not be leaving Labour in favour of Corbyn’s as yet unnamed party, despite the pair having worked closely together in the past.Speaking at the Edinburgh international book festival in conversation with the campaigner and commentator Talat Yaqoob, Abbott confirmed she had spoken to Corbyn before the party’s launch to warn him against it.“There were people around Jeremy encouraging him to set up a new party and I told him not to,” she said.“It’s very difficult under the first-past-the-post system for a new party to absolutely win.
If it wasn’t first past the post then you can see how a new party could come through, but I understand why he did it.”Abbott described Zarah Sultana, the independent MP launching the new party with Corbyn, as a “lovely person who is full of energy”.She said the party could get votes and support from people who were “not necessarily leftwing” but were “disappointed about the way [Labour has] gone in the past year”.Abbott, who as the longest-serving female MP has the honorary title of mother of the house, is suspended by Labour.She lost the party whip in April 2023 after she wrote a letter to the Observer in which she argued that Jewish, Irish and Traveller people experienced prejudice but not racism, and likened their experience to that of people with red hair.
She said the letter published was a draft version and that her comments had been taken out of context.She was readmitted to the party in time to hold her seat at the general election.But she was suspended again last month after telling the BBC in an interview that she did not regret the remarks.Abbott said in Edinburgh: “I think she and Jeremy are a great combination but at this point in time, it’s difficult to see how a brand new party wins.However, I think Jeremy’s party is going to do a lot better than people think, because a lot of people are not necessarily terribly leftwing.
People are a tiny bit disappointed about the way we’ve gone in the past year.”Asked whether she thought she would ever be accepted at the heart of the Labour party, Abbott said: “I think I am at the heart of the Labour party, it’s other people who aren’t.”Sign up to First EditionOur morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what’s happening and why it mattersafter newsletter promotionShe was speaking at the festival about her book A Woman Like Me, during which she also said Keir Starmer had been “timid on Gaza” and that the proscription of Palestine Action was “absolutely dreadful”.
Royal Mail still missing delivery targets after sale to Czech tycoon Křetínský
Royal Mail missed its targets by delivering nearly a quarter of first class mail late in the first update since its parent company was bought by a Czech billionaire, figures show.The company said on Friday it had delivered 75.9% of first class mail within one working day of collection in the three months to 29 June, up from 74.2% the previous quarter but well behind the 93% target set by the regulator, Ofcom.Its performance on second class was “broadly stable”, with 89
Fed chair Jerome Powell signals interest rate cuts amid Trump attacks
The Federal Reserve is gearing up to resume cuts to interest rates, its chair, Jerome Powell, has signaled, as he warned that Donald Trump’s tariffs and immigration crackdown had roiled the global economy and hit the US workforce.For months, Powell has ignored demands from the president to cut interest rates and defied Trump’s calls to resign. But as the president ramps up his extraordinary attack on the Fed’s independence, Powell suggested on Friday that central bank officials are considering a rate cut.“With policy in restrictive territory, the baseline outlook and the shifting balance of risks may warrant adjusting our policy stance,” Powell said in a closely scrutinized speech at a Jackson Hole symposium in Wyoming on Friday, highlighting a “challenging” dichotomy of risks: that Trump’s tariffs might increase inflation, while his immigration policies knock the US labor market.Wall Street rose sharply after the address, with the benchmark S&P 500 gaining 1
Elon Musk and X reach tentative settlement with laid-off Twitter staff
Elon Musk and his social media platform, X, reached a tentative settlement on Wednesday with former Twitter employees after a years-long legal battle over severance pay. Former staff had sought $500m in a proposed class action suit against the billionaire.A court filing released on Wednesday stated that both parties had reached a settlement agreement in principle and requested that a scheduled 17 September hearing in the case be postponed while they worked to finalize a deal. The filing did not disclose any details of the tentative agreement and it is unclear what level of compensation that former employees may receive.Former Twitter employees, led by Courtney McMillian and Ronald Cooper, alleged that the company failed to appropriately pay thousands of workers severance after conducting mass layoffs
AI lovers grieve loss of ChatGPT’s old model: ‘Like saying goodbye to someone I know’
Linn Vailt, a software developer based in Sweden, knows her ChatGPT companion is not a living, breathing, sentient creature. She understands the large language model operates based on how she interacts with it.Still, the effect it has had on her is remarkable, she said. It’s become a regular, reliable part of her life – she can vent to her companion or collaborate on creative projects like redecorating her office. She’s seen how it has adapted to her, and the distinctive manner of speech it’s developed
Salford stumble on in crisis with their future on the line and fans demanding answers
The notion of Salford walking out on Friday night to play their game against Leigh may seem to casual observers like a positive step, given they failed to fulfil their recent fixture against Wakefield and seem engulfed in a perma-crisis.In hindsight, the Salford warning signs were there last winter when the club requested an advance of £500,000 on their central distribution to survive the off-season. “We should have seen the wolves were at the door then,” one Super League chief executive said this week.A long-awaited takeover, led by the businessman Dario Berta in February, was supposed to end the uncertainty. If anything, it has only worsened it
Raducanu urges other grand slams to follow US Open on mixed doubles
Emma Raducanu believes the other grand slam tournaments should follow the US Open’s lead and change the format of their mixed doubles competitions after relishing her time competing alongside Carlos Alcaraz in the revamped version of the competition this week.This year, the US Open controversially opted to make significant changes to its mixed doubles championship, moving it from its usual position during the rest of the main draw events to the qualifying week and shifting the entry criteria so that it heavily favoured singles players.“I think it would be so fun if all the slams got involved and did something similar, even if it was not the exact same format,” said Raducanu. “I think it was a huge success. I think so many fans got involved, so many people watching and tuned in
Wes Streeting’s row with pharma firms grows as they reject NHS drug pricing offer
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Government to cover pay and pensions at collapsed South Yorkshire steelworks
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Block Elon Musk’s bid to supply UK home energy, Ed Davey urges
Trump officials urge Fed to remove governor after she refuses to quit