Titbits – Diane Abbott live on Newsnight, and the death of the Dalstonist
Hackney MP Diane Abbott. Photograph: Aoife Moriarty
■ Diane Abbott was her usual incoherent self on Newsnight when she refused to say if frontbenchers would be allowed to speak their minds after Jeremy Corbyn’s reshuffle. She blathered about collective responsibility and described presenter Evan Davis’ questions as “quibbles”. She later drew the ire of Jonathan Reynolds, one of the MPs who quit in solidarity with a sacked colleague, by saying that Reynolds was a former special adviser with no experience outside of politics. Reynolds tweeted at her:
For the record @HackneyAbbott, I was a trainee solicitor when elected, having gone to law school as a mature student and single parent (1/2)
— Jonathan Reynolds MP (@jreynoldsMP) January 6, 2016
He then added:
@HackneyAbbott And I think you’re a total sell-out for sending your own kids to private school (2/2)
— Jonathan Reynolds MP (@jreynoldsMP) January 6, 2016
Ouch!
■ The Dalstonist may have ceased production, but council-funded organ Hackney Today carries on printing. The Town Hall justifies expenditure on the propaganda sheet saying it is obliged by law to disseminate certain information to residents. Fine, but why does it also publish flyers about issues like the regeneration proposals for the former Frampton Arms? The council said it sometimes supplements Hackney Today with additional literature about information that needs to be communicated “urgently”. Meanwhile, the government’s threat to take legal action to stop the paper’s production seems to have come to nought, so it looks set to remain with us for some time still.