Diane Abbott and Jeremy Corbyn - both two of the most recognisable faces in UK politics - once dated in the late 1970s. Back then they were both young and eager politicians in the Labour Party. Much has been written and speculated about the brief romance - now MP Diane Abbott is setting the record straight. Speaking to the Guardian, Abbott says she was initially attracted to Corbyn after he "drew her in" and "infected her" with his love for their political party.

Abbott recalled a holiday the couple shared together in 1979 on a camping holiday in the South of France. Abbott said: "We travelled by motorbike and, Jeremy being Jeremy, it was a socialist motorbike, an East German model. It broke down regularly on our trip south, which I found rather irritating, but lovingly repairing his motorbike by the side of the road was Jeremy’s happy place."

She added: "We were too different. I had a range of interests and enjoyed reading and the theatre, but Jeremy was 99% absorbed in party politics. The only other thing I remember him spending time on was growing vegetables in his back garden. 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. Feeling excited, I dressed up nicely and we bundled into the car. 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." It was then Diane knew her and the future leader of the Labour party were in no way compatible and ended things amicably. "There were no regrets for either of us: for me, meeting Jeremy in 1978 had steered my political life in a new direction, and for that I was grateful," she said.

In May 2024, after the 2024 general election had been called, Jeremy Corbyn was not allowed to stand as a Labour candidate for his constituency. The decision was made after he claimed the scale of antisemitism in the Labour party was “dramatically overstated”. He subsequently announced he would stand as an independent candidate for Islington North; he was then expelled from Labour. He then went on be re-elected with a majority of 7,247.