Party Values

In 1987 Diane Abbott became the first black woman to be elected a member of parliament. This year she made political history again as she became the first black candidate to stand for the leadership of a major political party in Britain. Here Diane explains what motivated her to make the leadership bid.

"I joined the Labour Party 30 years ago because the Labour Party spoke to me and my values."

In our last 13 years in government we achieved many good things. But we lost our way. We became out of touch and lost the public. We closed down internal democracy and lost membership.

Now the party must put forward the most determined opposition to the reactionary agenda of this coalition government and develop our policies in order to reconnect with voters.

Alongside that we must rebuild the party, broaden its base, bring in new supporters and welcome back old ones.

I want again a party of values, a party of democracy, and a party that listens to its members and allows them participation in policy debate. I want again a party of radical hope, of compassion.

Ever since it became clear that a Labour leadership race was in the offing, people were urging me to run. I looked at the line up and it just seemed wrong. The declared frontrunners were hugely talented, but the danger was they were "hoovering up" all the nominations and sucking the air out of the contest.

I put myself forward for the job because I believed we needed to offer the country someone different; someone who wasn't a Westminster insider and a part of the ruling elite of the last Labour government. What kind of change is offering candidates who had been part of the old administration?

A few have sought to criticise my candidacy as being based purely on equality, diversity and 'tokenism'. I am proud of the diversity I brought to this leadership contest, not just by being a black woman on the ballot, but also through the debates I have pushed to the forefront. And as the most experienced individual in the contest I reject all notions of tokenism.

I came up through the party as an activist. I was the only candidate that was a former councillor, an elected member of the national executive, a former trade union official, and by far the longest serving MP. Unlike many who ascend to positions of power, I also remain a veteran to a number of grassroots campaigns, and I would not have stood if I did not believe I was the best person for the job.

Whether it made me enemies or stopped me from ascending the greasy pole of parliamentary promotion, I took a clear and principled stand on important issues; I protested against the abolition of the 10p tax rate, voted against tuition fees, stood up for civil liberties and voted against 42 and 90 days detention without trial and opposed the Iraq War and have called for troops to return from Afghanistan. I consistently stick by my principles even when it is tough to do so.

Politics should be about policies. Advocating fiercely for increased black representation in politics, does not equate to voting for someone simply because they are black. My identity as a black woman has most certainly shaped my beliefs, and in the twenty-first century, a winning progressive movement in any country must reflect the views and concerns of all groups. A lack of diversity and a lack of representation in any institution is instantly reflected in debate, policies and implementation. If we do not have a political leadership which looks like the community around us then it will lack legitimacy we want to represent. We need a political leadership that reflects our increasingly globalised world and Britain today, not the Britain of the 1950's.

As we celebrate Black History Month I am proud to have contributed to our archives once more as I did in 1987 when I became the first black woman to be elected a member of parliament. Black people in Britain continue to defy expectation. When Paul Boateng, Bernie Grant, Keith Vaz and I ran to be the first black members of parliament we were told we wouldn't win and 23 years later Britain celebrated the record election of 27 Black MP's. A few months ago I was told I would never make it on to the ballot and this June saw the first black candidate for the leadership of a major political party in Britain. We have come a long way since 1987. There is so much more work to be done and it will not be easy. But I have every faith that we will continue to defy circumstance, until we achieve the political equality we deserve.

Diane Abbott is MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington

Diane Abbot