Diane Abbott's leadership bid is hot topic on the high street

In the Ta Chic hair salon in Walthamstow, east London, the chat is usually about styles and soaps, not politics. But this week, customers are keen to talk about Diane Abbott, the first black person to contest a British political party leadership. "It's a landmark," said Paula Green, 46, post-shampoo. "She's black, she's a woman. She's been at the forefront for years now and she speaks her mind. She might not win. But more power to her." "She'll take the party left again," said stylist Gary Christie, easing a customer's head back and applying the jet black dye. "That definitely needs to happen." Abbott was first elected to the House of Commons 23 years ago – a long enough period for the public to feel they know her. But her life and career are seen by different people through different prisms. She is far from universally popular, not least in the black community. Inevitably, every prominent black figure faces community expectations that would be impossible to meet. And of course, some political types within black communities have the same misgivings about Abbott as others – particularly about her decision to send her son to a fee-paying school. "I have never been able to get past that," one veteran black Labour activist said yesterday. Though she may sometimes verge on haughty or plummy, for the most part, unaligned black Londoners see her positions as theirs. She has always made it a priority to remain in step with her bedrock constituency. Her television career has widened her appeal, but black support has always been its foundation. Henry Bonsu, director of programmes at Colourful Radio, said: "Whatever her failings, she has taken a bold step and put herself forward. Some younger people may complain she is promoting herself. But most people will understand what a big step forward this represents." The school controversy plays differently too, because while wider society saw Abbott's choice of school as a betrayal, her constituency shrugged and reflected that they too would have opted out of the state system, given the chance. Weyman Bennett, a black socialist activist, said: "I send my kids to state schools. And I think that issue was damaging to her. But it was never a killer blow because she has so obviously tried to improve things for other people's children. That kind of campaigning is more important." And that was largely the view in Ta Chic, as the weekend approached and more customers drifted in. Expectations are high. "She livens things up," said owner Millie Roache. "No doubt."