London, United Kingdom. Britain’s Labour Party said on Thursday it had readmitted Diane Abbott and restored the party whip, ending a suspension imposed last year over comments on racism. The party also reinstated Joani Reid, who had been sitting as an independent lawmaker.
Abbott’s readmission
Abbott, Britain’s first black woman member of parliament and the country’s longest-serving female lawmaker, was suspended by Labour in July 2025 under Keir Starmer, who stepped down as prime minister earlier in July.
Labour said Abbott’s readmission and the restoration of the whip followed a process conducted under party rules and approved by its independent review board.
Abbott said in a statement posted on X that she had been and remained “a lifelong anti-racist and remain deeply committed to opposing racism in all its forms.”
Previous suspensions
Abbott was first suspended by Labour in 2023 after saying that prejudice experienced by Jewish people was similar to, but not the same as, racism. She later apologised and withdrew the remarks, and was readmitted shortly before the July 2024 national election.
The party suspended her again in 2025 after she told BBC Radio that there was a difference between racism based on skin colour and other forms of racism, and said she did not regret the earlier controversy.
Reid reinstated
A Labour spokesperson said Joani Reid had also been reinstated after voluntarily suspending herself from the party following reports that her husband had been arrested on suspicion of assisting China’s foreign intelligence service.
A party source familiar with the matter said Reid had never been part of the police investigations into the alleged spying.
Antisemitism within Labour
Starmer made tackling antisemitism within Labour a central part of his leadership after the party faced accusations of discrimination and harassment against Jewish people under former leader Jeremy Corbyn.