‘Selfless’ Diane Abbott celebrated at Queen of Hoxton after hashtag craze
Diane Abbott and Stephanie Ozuo (Photo: Stefan Foster)
Hackney MP Diane Abbott was celebrated at a benefit event in Hoxton after her re-election with an increased majority of 35,000 votes.
More than 200 people attended the event at the Queen of Hoxton on Wednesday, 21 June, to show solidarity with the MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington after she received abuse during the election campaign.
Stephanie Ozuo, 22, who works in IT, started a hashtag to defend Abbott who stepped down as Labour’s shadow Home Secretary ahead of the 8 June vote for health reasons.
Speaking to the Citizen, Ozuo said: “Initially this was just a hashtag #AbbottAppreciation as an act of solidarity to show people we still support her, due to the undue criticism and vile hatred she was getting online and in the media as well. It was just too much.”
Ozuo arranged a hamper for Abbott while the hashtag campaign received support from across the world. “People weren’t happy with the treatment that a black female politician was getting”, said Ozuo.
Diane Abbott admits that the election campaign was tough, and the stereotype of being a “strong black woman” at #abbottappreciation event pic.twitter.com/a2WuPtxJ4h
— Fiona Rutherford (@Fi_Rutherford) June 21, 2017
She decided to organise an event for Abbott to raise money for the Sickle Cell Society – a cause the MP has championed.
“I thought it would be good to celebrate her life because it was long overdue”, she said.
The event was attended by fellow Labour MPs Clive Lewis, Keith Vaz, Kate Osamor, Marsha Decordova and Eleanor Smith.
Ozuo, who lives in South London, was pleased to meet Abbott for the first time.
“It was the first time I had ever met her”, she said. “It was amazing to meet her in the flesh.
“What I saw was like my mother. It was a very humble, down-to-earth woman.”
Ozuo added: “She was so sweet and kind. She took pictures with every single person, even when she was getting into her cab. She’s so selfless.”
In a speech at the event, the Hackney MP chose to talk about the Grenfell Tower fire victims rather than her own career or experiences.
Ozuo said: “That’s a sign of her character that she would put people before herself even at an event about her.”
Wow. Politics, PR and Perception Management. I’m looking forward to more articles built from the quotes of a gushing fan girl.
She’s had a lot of criticism thrown at her & most of it at her incompetence is justified. She’s not a strong woman, she’s very weak & only has the post of shadow home secretary because her one time lover Corbyn gave it to her. She hasn’t earned that position not politically anyway!
Where was Diane Abbott last week when the Stamford Hill Estate was again kicking off and invaded by knife wielding troublemakers bent on destruction?
Riot Police out in force and helicopters hovering overhead until the wee hours
Has there been a media blackout?
What Hackney needs is someone to REPRESENT HACKNEY not some self publicist who is ignorant of her brief.
Diane Abbott is never there when needed.
@Councillor Abraham Jacobson
She was probably practising “Shakin her booty” moves with Comrade Corbyn for Glastonbury but the “double act” was dropped! Apparently the crowd was only there to listen to Corbyn waffle & strike a pose!!!!
Oh this is hilarious!
The woman is incompetent and now we know it.
Why oh why is she STILL being elected? I’m mystified.
She gets elected because despite most peoples view that she is incompetent, self serving and arrogant, we are still mostly Labour supporters. So we suffer Diane because the alternative would be a conservative council. She knows she has a safe seat and so she can continue bungling along, making gaffs and ignoring her constituents forever. The Labour party will never change her for someone more competent, especially since her recent majority.