ll this has happened before, but mostly a long time ago. George Barnes, who was Labour leader 1910-11, and who served in David Lloyd George’s wartime coalition cabinet, had the whip removed in 1918 when the rest of the Labour Party left the coalition. He stayed on in government and held his seat at the 1918 election, which he fought on a “coalition coupon”.
Ramsay MacDonald, who was Labour leader and sitting prime minister when he formed the National government with the Conservatives in the economic crisis of 1931, was expelled by his party. Arthur Henderson, who succeeded him as Labour leader, disagreed with the decision and refused to sign the letter expelling him.
Michael Foot is the other Labour leader who had the whip removed, but that was in 1961, when he and four other Labour backbenchers voted against defence spending, 20 years before he became leader. The whip was restored to them after two years.
