‘Diane Abbott defies Labour’ – MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington says she will remain an MP for as long as possible. She says Labour won’t let her stand in the election – Starmer denies claim
Most of Thursday’s front pages lead on domestic topics – with politics being the most popular. We’re less than 5 weeks away from the UK general election and the campaign trail is heating up.
Several of the front pages lead on Diane Abbott defying Sir Keir Starmer as she says she will remain an MP for as long as possible. Abbott was suspended from Labour last April for saying Jewish, Irish and Traveller people do not face racism “all their lives”.
The right-leaning and left-leaning newspapers have a different take on the Abbott story – either way, it’s bad for Labour!
More from the campaign trail also features on the papers, the right-leaning newspapers lead on Tory Chancellor Jeremy Hunt saying Labour can’t be trusted with the economy, whilst the left-leaning newspapers say NHS nurses are in support of a Labour government.
Strikes, celebrities and UK crime stories also feature on the front pages.
The back pages report on English footballer Jude Bellingham – who will feature at the Real Madrid vs Borussia Dortmund Champions League final at Wembley on Saturday. The back pages lavish praise on the young superstar player. The upcoming Euros and the Premier League summer spending plans also feature.
‘Diane Abbott defies Labour’ & ‘cynical election doc strike’
The Guardian views Diane Abbott’s comments – at an east London rally – as setting up a “clash” with Starmer after defying him with her vow to remain an MP for “as long as possible.” The paper says the comments have come amid a row over whether Labour will allow her to run for their party in her Hackney North and Stoke Newington seat in the election.
The paper says a deal for her to retire from parliament, after her readmission to the Labour Party, has broken down.
The i newspaper says “Abbott dares Starmer: try to stop me.” The paper notes Sir Kier said yesterday that “no decision” had been taken to bar Diane Abbott. The paper says a deal was struck with Abbott to step down as an MP on her terms but the deal fell apart after the media was instead briefed that Labour would bar her from standing – a claim Sir Keir denies, the paper adds.
The Mirror chooses to leave the story off its front page – and instead features a large image of Sir Keir posing with student nurses. The headline reads: “We’re behind you, Keir.”
The right-leaning newspapers have a slightly different take.
The Telegraph leads with the headline: “I will not be intimidated” and says Abbott has thrown Labour’s election into turmoil.
The Times looks at the backlash Starmer is facing from the left of the Labour Party over what it calls a “full-blown purge” of candidates who had supported the previous leader, Jeremy Corbyn.
Elsewhere, other political news is splashed on the front pages.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak tells the Times that a vote for the Conservatives is a vote for cuts to interest rates. He tells the paper that the decision for a snap election rests on his “shoulders alone” and uses the interview to accuse Labour of assuming they can just “glide into No 10” without setting out a clear plan for office.
The Metro leads on a planned five-day walkout by junior doctors in England, before polling day, which has been branded a “cynical election doc strike”. The doctors’ union BMA has accused the government of ending negotiations.
But the Sun says the junior doctors should have waited for a new government to take office before restraining pay talks.