A Labour row has erupted after the party suspended four of its most vocal critics, three of whom are from the new intake of MPs.
Alloa and Grangemouth MP Brian Leishman, North East Hertfordshire MP Chris Hinchliff and Poole MP Neil Duncan-Jordan have been suspended from the party after they voted against the government on issues including the winter fuel allowance and planning reform. York Central MP Rachael Maskell has also been suspended.
Three other Labour MPs, Rosena Allin-Khan, Bell Ribeiro-Addy and Mohammed Yasin, have also had their trade envoy roles revoked.
Leishman has been a thorn in the government’s side over the Grangemouth refinery as well as a range of social issues, Hinchliff led a rebellion on planning, and Duncan-Jordan, who was one of the earliest critics of winter fuel.
A party source told LabourList that the suspensions were due to “repeated breaches of party discipline”, pending a future review.
Despite only being in the job for just over a year, the new intake made up half of the signatories to a wrecking amendment to the government’s welfare reform bill.
The letter, which gained more signatories as the government’s whipping operation went into overdrive to save the bill, was key to the government’s painful u-turn.
‘I am a proud Labour member’
In a statement provided to LabourList, Leishman said he wished to remain a Labour MP, but he did not want to make people poorer.
“I am a proud Labour member, and I remain committed to the party.
“I wish to remain a Labour MP and deliver the positive change many voters are craving.
“I have voted against the Government on issues because I want to effectively represent and be the voice for communities across Alloa and Grangemouth. I firmly believe that it is not my duty as an MP to make people poorer, especially those that have suffered because of austerity and its dire consequences.
“It is the honour of my life to be the MP for Alloa and Grangemouth, and my priority remains representing and fighting for constituents, whether they voted for me or not.”
While Neil Duncan-Jordan said he understood that speaking up against the welfare reforms could “come at a cost”.
“Since being elected I have consistently spoken up for my constituents on a range of issues, including most recently on cuts to disability benefits. I understood this could come at a cost, but I couldn’t support making disabled people poorer.
“Although I’ve been suspended from the Parliamentary Labour Party today, I’ve been part of the Labour and trade union movement for 40 years and remain as committed as ever to its values.
“To my constituents: it’s business as usual. I remain your hardworking local MP, I will continue to take up your concerns and speak up for Poole.”
‘No one’s busting me out of Labour’
One Labour MP: “I heard some rumours among the new intake this morning, that a couple had been called in [to the whips’ office]. Then I’ve just seen what’s on The Times.
“It’s really not a good look, particularly in the light of the catastrophic welfare bill and winter fuel developments. The optics are bad on the eve of summer recess.
“There’s been loads of good things in this Labour government, but no-one’s talking about it on the doorstep.”
Asked if they expected more MPs to be sanctioned, they added: “There’s always that fear.”
They said they believed the sanctions were a response to rebelling against the whip. But they added that if rumours of defection were correct, sanctions would be more “understandable”.
He called the handling of the welfare vote “chaos”, adding that there “needs to be responsibility”.
They added: “No-one’s busting me out of Labour.”
Kim Johnson, Liverpool Riverside MP and member of the Socialist Campaign Group alongside Brian Leishman, said LabourList that the suspensions saga had been a “s**tshow”.
A Labour MSP said that Leishman is a “fantastic Scottish Labour MP” who “works tirelessly for his constituents and stands up for Labour values”, and also said they “hope to see the whip restored soon”.
Former Labour MP Zarah Sultana, who herself was suspended for voting to scrap the two child benefit cap, described Keir Starmer and Morgan McSweeney as: “Insecure men. No vision. No compassion.”
‘A desperate act’
Left wing campaign group Momentum has hit out at the suspensions, calling them a “desperate act from a failing government”.
A spokesperson for the group said: “Suspending the whip from MPs who stood up for disabled people against cuts is a desperate act from a failing government that does not have the solutions to Britain’s problems.
“This intolerant crack down on principled dissent, rather than changing course, is a pathetic response to dire poll ratings and threatens to tear apart not the Labour Left but rather the Labour Party itself.”
Former political secretary to Tony Blair John McTernan also hit out at the decision and said Rachael Maskell was being suspended for “being right about policy”.
“Makes the Whips Office look like bad losers,” he said.
Director of cross-party campaign group Compass Neal Lawson was also critical of the suspensions and said: ”
The decision to suspend four MPs for standing up for disabled people and Labour values shows a leadership that is losing its moral lodestar – and its ability to manage relationships with the PLP.
“This was the time to listen to backbenchers – not banish them.”
However, NEC member Abdi Duale said: “If you were elected as a Labour candidate, it shouldn’t be shocking that voting with the Labour whip is a bare minimum requirement.”
More to follow…
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