There was a ripple of shock across the House of Commons on Tuesday night after Keir Starmer withdrew the whip from seven Labour MPs for backing an amendment on lifting the two-child benefit cap. Parliament’s new awkward squad includes some familiar faces of the Labour left, such as John McDonnell and Zarah Sultana. The cast list is such that it’s unlikely Keir Starmer’s inner circle will lose much sleep about these MPs being without the whip for six months. The bigger question is whether they will actually get it back.
The first rebellion of the Labour government was always seen as a key test
But while it’s the hard left who rebelled, concern over their treatment is more widespread. Labour MPs in the centre question the optics of punishing MPs over such an emotive issue as child poverty. There’s also simply the technical point that this was an amendment rather than a confidence vote – which usually such discipline would be reserved for. So, why did Starmer take such stern action over a relatively small rebellion?
As I reported last week in my politics column, the first rebellion of the Labour government was always seen as a key test – a message to the party on how Starmer would govern. As a senior Labour politician put it: ‘The number one aim for the first two years is to give nothing away to the left as it would be symbolic and we can’t afford it.’ That means Starmer’s team felt that letting even minor rebellious behaviour pass would encourage others to do the same. What’s more, the message on the two-child benefit cap had been clear in the election campaign – so MPs can’t say they weren’t warned.
The hope is that this sends a clear message to newbie MPs on how to behave, after several voiced unhappiness privately over the issue. Even before the punishment, most MPs chose not to rebel on the grounds that they expect Rachel Reeves to lift the cap in the autumn. There is a question as to how they respond if she doesn’t. But either way, the risk of the current whipping strategy is that it’s fine when only a tiny number of MPs rebel, and they are seen as the troublemakers. If a larger number of Labour MPs decide to make a point on an issue later down the line, it will be much harder for Starmer to apply this approach. Withdrawing the whip from 60 MPs is a lot trickier than seven.
Hear Katy’s analysis on today’s Coffee House Shots podcast:
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