Abbott will stand for shadow Cabinet
Tuesday, 28 September 2010 12:00 AM
By Peter Wozniak
Diane Abbott has confirmed her bid to leave the backbenches behind for a shadow Cabinet position.
The Hackney MP came last in the leadership race, but will hope that her rise in stature over the campaign will be enough to plant herself on the opposition front bench.
Ms Abbott is on the hard left of the party. She has established a rebellious reputation by opposing New Labour initiatives, such as Iraq and 90-day detention.
Under Labour's rules for election to the 19-person frontbench team there must be a minimum of six women, which may aid her chances.
However, her ideology may not sit well with new leader Ed Miliband who has already had to fight off the label of 'Red Ed' from the press.
Perhaps in anticipation of this, she had very warm words for her new leader at the podium, attacking the 'Red Ed' tag as a "ludicrous caricature", calling him "a gifted and charismatic leader" who would "never leave the party behind".
Despite her gushing praise of the leadership, Ms Abbott's support among MPs, who will decide whether she achieves her ambition, is particularly weak with only a handful voting for her as leader.
If elected, Ms Abbott has pledged to leave her regular position on Andrew Neil's This Week sofa.
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