Diane Abbott Says Brexit Voters Are Racist

Allegations of Rising Racism

Labour’s Shadow Health Secretary, Diane Abbott, claimed that racists who want to see “less foreign-looking people on their streets” drove the Brexit vote, which she said “added another turn of the screw to rising racism.”

Reports of Hate Crimes Post-Referendum

The close ally of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn also stated that people who talk Brexit had attacked and assaulted ethnic minority voters and Eastern Europeans following the referendum. More than 17 million people voted to leave the European Union, giving the decision the largest ever democratic mandate in British history.

According to the Daily Mail, she said: “The Brexit vote and the Leave people winning seems to have given far too many people permission to racially abuse and attack people all over the country.”

She added: “People, not just Eastern Europeans, but people of all colours, are being attacked and assaulted by people who talk about Brexit … There has been this upsurge after this Brexit vote in horrible, horrible attacks.”

Scrutiny of the Statistics

Claims of a hate crime epidemic after the referendum are based on one line from a single press release by the National Police Chiefs’ Council. In the four days immediately after the vote, the document said reports of hate crimes had “risen 57 per cent”. However, this statistic referred to 85 unverified online reports, with no supporting evidence. The same document also noted that forces recorded “no major spikes in tensions” after the vote. In fact, prosecutions for hate crimes have fallen since June.

Further Commentary and Concession

Despite criticism, speaking on BBC Daily Politics, Mrs. Abbott doubled down on her claims. She insisted that such attacks were not common before the referendum, citing anecdotal evidence of a friend who was abused by people claiming, “We voted for Brexit.”

When questioned, Mrs. Abbott acknowledged, “I’m not saying that all of them were motivated by [racism], but the evidence of the attacks suggests that some were.”

However, she also conceded agreement with many who voted to leave, explaining: “I was eurosceptic about the economic and financial arrangements, but in the end, Remain was the right thing to do.”

Read more: Labour’s Diane Abbott Says Brexit Voters Are Racist and Responsible for Hate Crimes