Numbers are not her strong point, are they. Transcript of ITN interview today -

Reporter: Do you know the number of net losses so far for Labour?

Diane Abbott: At the time of doing this interview I think the net losses are about 50.

Reporter: There are actually 125 net losses so far.

Abbott: Well the last time I looked we had net losses of about 100 but obviously this is a moving picture.

To be fair to her they were sat at 124 net losses then lost one more.

She was then asked on the spot how many that made in total, bit harsh to judge her on that not everyone is good at maths.

The problem is that the number she provided changed from 50 to 100 in about 2 seconds.

(oops - just re-read your comment dom and missed the sarcasm - sorry!)

She doesn't have to be good at maths - she says 50 net losses then a few seconds later says 100...of course blundering her way through it once again

I'm surprised they've let her out on her own again...

She does like a drink. It shows. Frightening really. Fortunately she will never be in government.

But she is in government. I don't know if she is on any, but, they do have cross party committees talking about stuff that you need to be able to add up accurately on.

Diane Abbott has just been counting all the votes and Labour have won by a landslide.

Feeling a bit sorry for her now - I know there'll be a barrage of posts telling me why I shouldn't.

But she needs taking out of the firing line for her own good, I'm not sure who is left to take her place.

The real cream of the Lab party won't serve under Corbyn.

Every QT I've watched in which a pro-Corybn Lab shadow cabinet member has been on has been car crash tv. They just haven't the experience and its shows, and its hurting them really badly.

No wonder labour always screw the economy up

You are right Lancaster. She tries to be serious all the time which doesn't help. When asked about the local election figures she would have been better being disarming and humorous by deflecting the question with a - do you really think I am the best person to ask given my track record this week.

She comes across as pompous and if you are making a mess of things that is the worst impression to give.

On her money and in that senior a position, not everyone's good at maths goes out of the window. Shes robbing a massive wage!

She really is the gift that just keeps on giving.

I'm with Notts- POST 9.
I've never liked her but I'm beginning to think there's something seriously wrong with her. She reminds me of a punch-drunk, just keeps standing because of some instinct but her brain is fuddled and she cant think straight at all. It really needs the ref to step in and stop the fight.

I'm just waiting for her to say "twelvety" (not sure how many League of Gentlemen fans there are on here ).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNJgy6j9gas" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

she said the local elections were irrelevant, of far more importance was the elections for the metro mayors...that woman should not even be working in a mcdonalds never mind govt, she is the worst example i can think of in terms of self serving politicians other than possibly nicola sturgeon

Her maths certainly ain't too good.

Might be better though if Blair had found those weapons of maths deduction

Well, at least I tried.....

A breathtakingly incompetent, vile racist slug,utterly beggars belief that this woman is still in politics at all never mind a high ranking shadow cabinet member.Thankfully for the labour party once the heavy defeat happens they can at least have a huge clearout and build from the ground up and be rid of the likes of this odious haradian

lakesclaret wrote:vile racist slug ... odious haradian

I'm sure many people will agree with the other things you said about her (general incompetence), but calling her a "vile racist slug" and "odious" makes it appear that you have some sort of agenda against her. It makes you come across as somewhat misogynistic and racist, as I can only imagine you dislike her to that extent because she is a black woman. Of course, I may be wrong and you have some other reason for such hatred, however either way it diminishes the remainder of your argument.

ClaretMoffitt wrote:She really is the gift that just keeps on giving.

Absolutely,I love her.She adds excitement and interest every time she speaks.At least she's honest,she talks crap and doesn't hide it. Apart from the PM,name another politician that has created so much to talk about.If you are reading this Diana I truly love you and I want your baby

Amazing how people in this line of work can be so incompetent and yet still walk into work day-by-day. If people in other professions were this incompetent they'd be shown the door sharpish (apart from weathermen/women who seem to be pretty bad at guesswork)
It's also amazing to think that the public have to rely on them to make the right decisions for society

gtclaret wrote:Absolutely,I love her.She adds excitement and interest every time she speaks.At least she's honest,she talks crap and doesn't hide it. Apart from the PM,name another politician that has created so much to talk about.If you are reading this Diana I truly love you and I want your baby

Big Nige

USC wrote:I'm sure many people will agree with the other things you said about her (general incompetence), but calling her a "vile racist slug" and "odious" makes it appear that you have some sort of agenda against her. It makes you come across as somewhat misogynistic and racist, as I can only imagine you dislike her to that extent because she is a black woman. Of course, I may be wrong and you have some other reason for such hatred, however either way it diminishes the remainder of your argument.

Calling a racist a racist makes you a racist if the racist in question is a certain race.

ClaretMoffitt wrote:Calling a racist a racist makes you a racist if the racist in question is a certain race.

There is a difference though - lakesclaret actually called Diane Abbot a racist in his vitriolic attack on her. I did not call lakesclaret a racist; I just pointed out that such a vitriolic attack on her (and calling her a racist) can make him come across as misogynistic and racist. As I pointed out in my comment, I have no idea whether lakesclaret actually is misogynistic or racist; but I do feel that displaying such vitriolic hatred for Diane, in addition to labeling her a racist, suggests a "dark*" side to his character!

(*dark in the context of sinister, not as in the colour of one's skin )

Your assumption is correct.

Her figures are not wrong.she uses a different calculation to the rest of the world.Who's to say you're all right and she's wrong.Because her reality is different to almost everyone not sectoned does not mean she is wrong.Yore all racist and should be shot.

I might be wrong on this one, as I'm clearly not in this particularly minority, but if I was female + English + of black African descent, I'd be thinking "Well it's brilliant that one of us finally got to be a minister (even if it was in the shadow cabinet with no hope of ever being a "real" minister) but why the f. did it have to be her?"

They should bring Spitting Image back just to do a Diane Abbott show. Her puppet would be comedy gold.

The amazing thing is she is not stupid.I think she has a first from Oxford.Just a bit mad that's all

I don't even think she's mad, she's just completely lacking in any self-awareness, believes everything that falls out of her trap and unfortunatley for her (and those listening to her) she has no filter. All in all, a combination that's just not suited to a person in a public position.

How she is given air time is beyond me.

Her shed collapses at the merest hint of debate or a confrontation. She's been performing at this standard for years.

It's hard to accept that anybody in such a position would be intellectually challenged (thick as pig sh1t) but in her case I honestly believe she is.

A frontline politician not doing any research when interviewed 7 times in a day on the same topic and on the cusp of a GE is almost laughable.

Some of the most well educated people that I know are the most stupid, a common trait of a plenty graduates that I've worked with.

There seem to be too many ten a penny graduates (a result of the university for everyone approach?) with little between the ears aside from some obscure diploma in the study of something irrelevant, which does little if anything to serve them well in their career.

There are plenty that are very intelligent and worthy of the position it affords them (I'd hope that a first from Oxford would be a great example) but perhaps not always the case.

--- -- --- ---- ------ ----- -- ----- ---- ---- ---- ------ --- ------.

There, I've said it now. I certainly feel a whole lot better for that.

DCWat wrote:I don't even think she's mad, she's just completely lacking in any self-awareness, believes everything that falls out of her trap and unfortunatley for her (and those listening to her) she has no filter. All in all, a combination that's just not suited to a person in a public position.

How she is given air time is beyond me.

She is given air time because is guaranteed entertaimnent
If I was a TV excecutive I would defiantly have her on a debate.

gtclaret wrote:She is given air time because is guaranteed entertaimnent
If I was a TV excecutive I would defiantly have her on a debate.

Big Brother generation - let's gawp at the mentalist. I know why you mean but it doesn't lead to a healthy society.

Plenty of veiled racism/ sexism on this thread.
I am no fan of Abbott.

However...post 6...
'She does like a drink'..

PLEASE PROVIDE some good links and evidence of what you are saying..don't run away.

post 11..Really
Please provide some detailed thoughtful evidence of your statement, otherwise I will think you are a low-wattage lamebrain contributor who should be thrown in the Leeds-Liverpool...?

hampsteadclaret wrote:Plenty of veiled racism/ sexism on this thread.

Where?

If a person of colour said they thought Dave Cameron was a complete cad (something I would agree with), would that make them an anti-white racist?
Of course not, its just reasonable stance. Likewise, believing DA is a liability in her current role is not per se racist.

Got it! Cor bin and Abbott areally too clever for us and we are all mugs.We all know that Venkys are secret Clarets doing a fantastic job.It is obvious that this dynamic duo are undercover tories doing an even better job in super quick time.

hampsteadclaret wrote:Plenty of veiled racism/ sexism on this thread.
I am no fan of Abbott.

However...post 6...
'She does like a drink'..

PLEASE PROVIDE some good links and evidence of what you are saying..don't run away.

post 11..Really
Please provide some detailed thoughtful evidence of your statement, otherwise I will think you are a low-wattage lamebrain contributor who should be thrown in the Leeds-Liverpool...?

Racism, sexism? There's no racist nor sexist behaviour. Accusation such as this do nothing to support the genuine cases of racial or sexual discrimination.

She'd have got nowhere in politics if she wasn't married to Russ..

Marney&Mee wrote:She'd have got nowhere in politics if she wasn't married to Russ..

I think she'll be fine. Eventually, she will have her pick from "Strictly Come Dancing", "Celebrity Big Brother" or " I'm a celebrity get me out of here" It's how things appear to work nowadays....

claretfern wrote:I think she'll be fine. Eventually, she will have her pick from "Strictly Come Dancing", "Celebrity Big Brother" or " I'm a celebrity get me out of here" It's how things appear to work nowadays....

Racist

DCWat wrote:Some of the most well educated people that I know are the most stupid, a common trait of a plenty graduates that I've worked with.

There seem to be too many ten a penny graduates (a result of the university for everyone approach?) with little between the ears aside from some obscure diploma in the study of something irrelevant, which does little if anything to serve them well in their career.

There are plenty that are very intelligent and worthy of the position it affords them (I'd hope that a first from Oxford would be a great example) but perhaps not always the case.

gtclaret wrote:The amazing thing is she is not stupid.I think she has a first from Oxford.Just a bit mad that's all

Diane Abbott read history at Cambridge Uni - early 70s, based on her d-o-b. No details on wiki about the class of her degree. It's unlikely to have been a first - they were very rare until last decade or so.

harpers_perm wrote:Her shed collapses at the merest hint of debate or a confrontation. She's been performing at this standard for years.

It's hard to accept that anybody in such a position would be intellectually challenged (thick as pig sh1t) but in her case I honestly believe she is.

A frontline politician not doing any research when interviewed 7 times in a day on the same topic and on the cusp of a GE is almost laughable.

Even more stupidly, this particular interview was on radio. She could have had a big piece of paper with the details written down, and a person with a pointer telling her which number to read out, if she'd wanted.

USC wrote:I'm sure many people will agree with the other things you said about her (general incompetence), but calling her a "vile racist slug" and "odious" makes it appear that you have some sort of agenda against her. It makes you come across as somewhat misogynistic and racist, as I can only imagine you dislike her to that extent because she is a black woman. Of course, I may be wrong and you have some other reason for such hatred, however either way it diminishes the remainder of your argument.

Dsr, she did have a big piece of paper(s). You could hear her frantically turning the pages. It was cringeworthy.

USC - she has made racist comments - most notably one in 2012. I am struggling to see where the misogyny comes in here.

cloughyclaret wrote:USC - she has made racist comments - most notably one in 2012.

She made comments which invoked some controversy in 2012, for which she apologized - yes I understand that. However, there is nothing at all to suggest she is racist.

I hate quoting from wiki, but its nearly bedtime for me and you are free to research this further. Be fair, what else can this be construed as? 'Apology' or not.

"On 4 January 2012, Abbott tweeted that: "White people love playing 'divide and rule' We should not play their game", which again led to widespread criticism including accusations of racism. Only after being told by the Labour Party leadership that the comment was unacceptable did she apologise for "any offence caused", claiming that she had not intended to "make generalisations about white people"