Quotes by Diane Abbott

Gun crime is a major cause of fear and distress throughout the UK. The problem is deeply entrenched in a wide range of social and cultural factors and therefore not an isolated issue.
– Diane Abbott
I can't bear most rap music because it goes on about whores and drinking Cristal champagne, and dancehall tends to be sexist and homophobic.
– Diane Abbott
I've recently bought a mini iPod. And because I travel on public transport it's proving a good way to listen to music again. Most recently I've been listening to what is called nu-soul: American singers such as Jill Scott, Angie Stone, India Arie and Erykah Badu.
– Diane Abbott
Many young people carrying real or imitation firearms do so in a mistaken attempt to either boost their image, or from a misguided idea about self-protection. In addition, most London shootings involve members of the black community and are often related to deprivation, gang rivalry or the illegal drug trade.
– Diane Abbott
My London constituency in Hackney has one of the highest levels of gun crime in the country. But the problem is no longer confined to inner city areas. Gun crime has spread to communities all over Britain.
– Diane Abbott
My mother liked Jim Reeves. I hated his records. He was unbearable.
– Diane Abbott
Private schools prop up the class system in society. It is inconsistent, to put it mildly, for someone who believes in a fairer and more egalitarian society to send their child to a fee-paying school. But I had to choose between my reputation as a politician and my son.
– Diane Abbott
The honest truth is that if this government were to propose the massacre of the first-born, it would still have no difficulty in getting it through the Commons.
– Diane Abbott
The wide availability and relatively lenient sentences for gun possession is reflected in this surge of gun crime in London. Today's figures confirm what the APPG on gun crime has long recognised, namely that much stricter legislation and enforcement procedures are needed.
– Diane Abbott
Whenever I felt like slitting my wrists I used to like listening to depressed singers from the 1970s. It was great music for a misunderstood teenager. And when I'm feeling misunderstood these days, I'll stick on a bit of Leonard Cohen.
– Diane Abbott
You can't defend the indefensible - anything you say sounds self-serving and hypocritical.
– Diane Abbott
When fast food is not a treat but a dietary staple, the children surf the internet all day in dark corners of the room and are bombarded with latest gadgets. Things replace parental standards.
– Diane Abbott
My family were from Jamaica.
– Diane Abbott
Mental health is often missing from public health debates even though it's critical to wellbeing.
– Diane Abbott
In politics, the people I most despise are those who have no values.
– Diane Abbott
I was a postman one Christmas and I developed a morbid fear of dogs.
– Diane Abbott
I wanted my marriage to work, but it didn't.
– Diane Abbott
Families are struggling against a tide of junk information on junk food.
– Diane Abbott