Jeremy Corbyn took me on a date to Karl Marx’s grave, says Diane Abbott
Jeremy Corbyn took Diane Abbott on a surprise date to Karl Marx’s grave during the pair’s previous relationship, Ms Abbott has revealed.
The Labour MP, who dated Mr Corbyn briefly in the late 1970s, said she realised the pair were not a “match made in heaven” after spending Christmas with his family.
She described the Corbyn Christmas as an example of “socialist frugality” with boiled vegetables and turkey, in stark contrast to her “jolly” Jamaican Christmases.
While she enjoyed theatre and reading, she claims he spent almost all of his free time invested in party politics.
“Once, after I lamented our lack of social activity as a couple, he pondered it for a few days and told me we were going out,” she told The Guardian.
Feeling excited, she said she “dressed up nicely” before setting off in the car together to a surprise location.
However, she soon realised their final destination was quite different to what she had imagined, adding: “I had no idea where we were going – perhaps a nice wine bar? It turned out Jeremy’s idea of a social outing was to drive me to Highgate Cemetery and proudly show me the tomb of Karl Marx.”
Their relations continued for “a short while” after the cemetery date before “gradually collapsing”, she said.
Ms Abbott was re-elected to her seat in Hackney North and Stoke Newington in July following a row over whether she would be allowed to stand for Labour.
She had been suspended from the party last year after she suggested that Jewish, Irish and Traveller people experienced prejudice but not racism, sparking a long-running process that saw her sit as an independent MP.
Sir Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister, had previously declined to say whether Ms Abbott would be allowed to defend her seat, before he eventually confirmed he would back her as a candidate.
Her new book, A Woman Like Me, published by Viking, is released on September 19.