Diane Abbott

I was shocked and disappointed by DA's dreadful performance. It's ludicrous to defend her by suggesting her aids let her down, didn't prepare for her. She's shadow Home Secretary, being interviewed about her parties plans to improve things for the police and she doesn't have the figures fixed in her head, Why? I

I've always found her patronising but she seems to be developing into an art form. Extra slow, breathy speech patterns in which she doesn't seem able to string words together effectively or concisely. She is dreadful and its a measure of the position of Jeremy Corbyn in the LP that she's one of his key people. He said he wasn't embarrassed by the interview, why wasn't he? Most other people were.

Clutching at straws annie

I failed to see any connection between a politician in a poster obviously the work of an opposing party and the shadow Home Secretary not knowing costings of more police officers her leader had announced that morning

durhamjen
It that your best shot in defence of comrade Abbott. I was expecting something interesting or even informative. Sadly it was neither.

I don't know where she was born but she sounds to me like someone who has had elecution lessons = voice training
her pronouncments all come out floating along a breath like when I learned to sing as a teenager.

I've been out all afternoon at a beautiful film about Emily Dickinson (A Quiet Passion) but if I may would like to go back to your remark Daphnedill about racist/sexist prejudice.
I fior one have no quarrel with Diane Abbott on either of those grounds. I may disagree (very much) with her politics, but my criticism of her Radio omnishambles is entirely based on her incompetence.
If anyone can think of a valid reason for JC's apparently unswerving loyalty and faith in her other than 1), 2, or 3) above or maybe 4) he is a poor judge of character, I have yet to hear it.
I realise the thread has moved on of course.

I don't understand why DA didn't have the facts and figures in front of her as it was a radio interview. I agree with MawBroon on that. Should have listened to the adage - fail to prepare, prepare to fail.

She's not the only one who makes mistakes.

skwalker1964.files.wordpress.com/2017/05/tory-hell-poster.jpg?w=560

Most mothers would 'go to the wall' for their children and that includes all nationalities, so Abbott was daft to use that as an excuse for her sending her children to private school! Furthermore.....can you imagine the furore if a white politician had made that remark?

What made me laugh in the interview (radio, LBC?) was when the presenter queried her figures she said 'I didn't say that number, you did!' After we all heard her say that same number.She will blame anyone else but herself.

Exactly! It is a generalisation, but it's also true that certain cultures place a very high value on education and the mother is often the lynchpin. Indian and Chines children are over-represented in grammar schools relative to the number of them in the country and they do well in public exams.

Sunseeker I'd say it's a generalisation. Whether generalisations are racist is open to interpretation Maybe DA felt she knew the West Indian community well enough to make that comment, but Andrew Neil felt that her implication was precluding mothers of other ethnicities of doing the same. It was quite a heated exchange if I remember rightly and I think DA uttered that line "I can't defend the indefensible,"she didn't come out of it particularly well and I think it's something as a far left politician she will find hard to live down. As for as my comment "I think Asian mothers go to the wall for their children re education" It's an observation, as I said, the Asian intake in my local grammar, my husband's grammar over the other side of London and indeed grammar schools generally around London have an extremely high Asian intake. I didn't mean that in a negative sense, Asians Indians/Chinese seem to value education and they are well represented in medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, accountancy and law.

She has a knack for exempting herself from every gaff that she makes.

The point I was making, daphnedill, was that the Labour party were very anti-private schools (in theory) but DA seemed to think that her statement exempted her.

daphnedil

" I can almost guarantee that there will be a female, black Conservative MP on the front benches within a couple of years:"

Surprised by your attitude !

Do you see a difference in colour between Black and Asian in that statement.?

Isn't it racist to say that West Indian or Asian mothers would "go to the wall for their children" implying that other races wouldn't. I am sure there are mothers and grandmothers on GN from all races who would "go to the wall" or do anything for their children and grandchildren

typo - successive

I've marked GCSE papers from London schools (including the grammar and indies) and I can confirm that many of the best candidates have Indian-sounding names. It's the same in many of the grammar schools around the country. I would say they are over-represented in the best selective schools.

If my local grammar school is anything to go by I'd say "Asian mums go to the wall for their children" it won't come as a surprise to most that many Asians are aspirational as far as education is concerned and are heavily represented in the grammar schools, around London at any rate. It also won't come as a surprise, under succesive governments, that languishing at the bottom of the heap are white working class boys and less so, but still prevalent nevertheless, black working class boys.

I can almost guarantee that there will be a female, black Conservative MP on the front benches within a couple of years:

www.conservativehome.com/parliament/2017/05/exclusive-kemi-badenoch-selected-in-saffron-walden.html

In any case, she has a job for life.

I hope she doesn't attract racist abuse, however competent she is.

anniebach You should read elsewhere. There are racist undertones and direct abuse all over social media about her.

Many parts of the West Indies have a matriarchal society. She's right. Many Chinese, West African and Indian mums do the same. It's part of their culture.

What is it with politicians and maths?

Remember David Blunkett being asked a simple multiplication (7 x 9 IIRC) and not daring to answer?

He was shadow Education Secretary at the time

She also famously said 'I'm a West Indian mum and West Indian mums will go to the wall for their children...' when callenged about her decision to send her son to a private school.

She has the job because she is fiercely loyal to him and there are few MP's elected before 2015 who will work with him