While speaking to a gathering called The World Transformed, which was an event organised in Brighton by the left-wing activist group Momentum ahead of the Labour Conference in Brighton, Abbott said that only fielding black candidates in certain constituencies would allow more MPs from ethnic minorities to enter the House of Commons.

According to a report that has appeared on Buzzfeed News, Abbott said:

“We need to revisit the campaign for all-black shortlists.”

“It did have a transformative effect on getting women into parliament but we need to pay attention to the fact that all-women shortlists have not necessarily worked for black and ethnic minority women.”

“If you want to engage with black and minority voters you have to start talking about the things they are talking about, you have to start holding events and reaching out to them.”

The potential for it to do more harm than good is perfectly clear, especially as ‘all-black’ is just another way of saying ‘no-white,’ no matter which way you look at it.