Sir Keir Starmer has suspended four Labour MPs as he seeks to reassert his authority after a series of damaging backbench rebellions.
Rachael Maskell, one of Sir Keir’s fiercest opponents in the recent revolt over welfare reforms, Chris Hinchliff, Brian Leishman and Neil Duncan-Jordan have all had the whip withdrawn over persistent breaches of party discipline.
In response, Mr Leishman and Mr Duncan-Jordan both hit out, saying they had not been elected last year to make people “poorer”.
The move comes before politicians depart Westminster for the summer early next week and follows speculation that some Labour MPs could have been in talks to join a new party being created by ex-Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana.
But a senior Labour figure said the punishment “shows how weak they are” and added: “It only hastens Starmer’s fall by showing his absolute weakness.”
Sir Keir suffered a serious blow earlier this month when dozens of his own MPs voted against his planned welfare cuts in Parliament.
The chancellor, Rachel Reeves, now faces the task of filling the £5bn hole in the public finances left by the climbdown, raising speculation she will be forced to raise taxes in the autumn.
The prime minister had been forced into two humiliating U-turns on the legislation in less than a week to head off a revolt that threatened to defeat his government on one of its flagship policies.
Despite the climbdowns, the revolt was still the largest backbench rebellion Sir Keir has suffered so far.
In response to his suspension, Alloa and Grangemouth MP Mr Leishman, who has repeatedly criticised Sir Keir over welfare reforms and winter fuel payment cuts, said he was “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”.
But he said he did not believe it was his duty as an MP “to make people poorer”.
He said he had voted against the government “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.”
Poole MP Mr Duncan-Jordan said he “couldn’t support making disabled people poorer”, while York Central MP Ms Maskell said she had been suspended for “standing up for my constituents” over the benefits plans.
She added: “There are lines I can’t cross because of where I come from in politics with my faith.”
She said she was “not angry” but “upset that we are in this place because I believe we are better than that as a party. I believe that strength comes from the backbenches”.
Three other Labour MPs, Rosena Allin Khan, a former member of Sir Keir’s frontbench, Bell Ribeiro-Addy and Mohammed Yasin, had their trade envoy roles removed for their opposition to the government.
Amid mounting tensions between Labour and the unions, the Fire Brigades Union general secretary Steve Wright called the suspensions “an outrageous and authoritarian act”.
He added: “Instead of abandoning the benefit cuts that will force hundreds of thousands of families into poverty, Keir Starmer has chosen to purge Labour MPs who sought to halt this disastrous policy. The FBU will use its influence as a Labour affiliated union to seek to force the party hierarchy to reinstate those who have been suspended.”
In a sign of the deteriorating relationship between Labour and the unions, last week Unite said it had voted to suspend Deputy PM Angela Rayner’s membership and would reconsider its ties with the party.
It came just days after several groups, including the Trades Union Congress (TUC) and the FBU, piled pressure on the government to avoid more cuts by bringing in a wealth tax.
Unite voted to suspend Angela Rayner’s membership and reconsider its ties with the party, with its general secretary claiming Sir Keir Starmer’s party is not on the side of working people.
Unite, which is one of the biggest unions in the country and has long been affiliated with Labour, has accused the government of failing workers in a row over the Birmingham bin strike that could lead to a historic split with the party.
Before the welfare vote, the previous record for rebellion numbers was earlier this month during the passage of the planning and infrastructure bill, when 16 MPs rebelled.
A revolt last year, over the controversial two-child benefit cap, saw a number of Labour MPs stripped of the party whip, including Jeremy Corbyn’s shadow chancellor John McDonnell.
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