THE SHOCKING and disgraceful words levelled at Diane Abbott by the Conservative’s biggest donor Frank Hester are indicative of the party’s longstanding problem of anti-black racism.

Hester said that his hatred of Abbott informed his loathing of Black women generally.  His ‘joke’ that Abbott should be shot, would be enough for a man of a different appearance to become the subject of a criminal investigation or to be cancelled entirely.

Indeed the treatment of Abbott reflects the reprehensible anti-Blackness that exists throughout society.

It has become normalised to the point that someone like Hester felt comfortable enough to spew his ignorant bile out loud and to think he would get away with it.

There are some immediate and pressing questions in the aftermath of this controversy.

In the wake of these shocking and racist comments directed at Diane Abbott by Hester, a disturbing silence from Black members of the party has raised eyebrows and sparked widespread criticism.

this shocking attack on Britain’s first Black female MP, an individual who has received more racist abuse than any other parliamentarian, and who has devoted almost 4 decades of her life to fighting racism, has been met with a Black wall of silence.  

Despite the vile and abhorrent nature of Hester’s remarks, which targeted Abbott and expressed a desire to “hate all Black women,” the absence of condemnation from leading Black members of the Conservative party has left many observers puzzled and disappointed. The silence of people like Kemi Badenoch, James Cleverly, Helen Grant, Shaun Bailey and Adam Afriyie among others on such a glaring display of racism calls into question their commitment to addressing systemic discrimination not only within their own party but Black Britons across the country who may experience violence as a result of such dangerous rhetoric.

Kemi Badenoch is, would you believe, the equalities minister. Is there any point in having an equalities minister if the person who holds the post cannot speak out if a fellow politician has said they feel vulnerable and worried following these comments?

Such racist rhetoric, when not unequivocally opposed, can have violent and dangerous consequences. There is plenty of historical and current precedent for this.

Richard Sudan

Do these leading Black Conservatives condone or condemn Hester’s remarks? Will they add their voices to the growing calls for their party to return the £10 million Hester donated to the party?

Don’t bet on it.  This is, after all the same party which once labelled Nelson Mandela a terrorist, and the same party which introduced hostile environment policies which still cause so much suffering and fear among our communities and who have given so much to this country.

Racism is not a party political or left/right issue.  To that end you might think at the very least, Black Conservative MPs, or even the country’s first non-White prime minister might have condemned the abhorrent views of Hester, the party’s biggest donor.

On the contrary, their silence is deafening.

Some sections of the mainstream media have suggested that the Conservative party’s large number of Black and minority ethnic MPs is something to celebrate.  They have argued that it is a sign of progress.

But when those Black MPs fail to condemn blatant racism, they normalise it and are actively encouraging it.

Such racist rhetoric, when not unequivocally opposed, can have violent and dangerous consequences. There is plenty of historical and current precedent for this.

As I’ve written about previously for The Voice, these individuals are the Black faces of white supremacy.

If the leading Black Tories and our first non-White prime minister do not see fit to condemn Hester’s comments and demand better from their own party they should hang their heads in shame. 

But again, let’s not expect too much from them.  This is, after all, the kind of behaviour we have become used to from the Conservatives.

However, this is not to let Labour off the hook. Despite the party’s recent worrying track record with the Black community, especially of over the Race Equality Act fiasco, Sir Keir Starmer has an opportunity right now to potentially do the right thing.

Restoring the whip to Diane Abbott in the face of the outrageous racism she has had to contend with,  is not only the right thing for Labour to do to show solidarity, it’s the smart thing to do politically.