A victory for Labour’s left-wing women

Labour’s left-wing women have long been side-lined by the party and by the media. Having refused to engage with the Blairite agenda of the Labour Party from the end of the 1990s, these women received little media attention. This is despite having spearheaded a number of notable campaigns, for example, the London Schools and the Black Child initiative and community-led climate change lobbies. Following Jeremy Corbyn’s election as leader, left-wing women such as Dianne Abbott and Emily Thornberry found themselves for the first time in Labour’s shadow cabinet. Far from receiving a warm reception, or even a political platform, these women were considered ‘wrong’ for Labour. The focus of this piece will be on Emily Thornberry and Diane Abbott, as they have featured most heavily in recent media analysis due to their positions as Shadow Defence Secretary and Shadow Home Secretary.