London MPs John McDonnell and Apsana Begum have had the Labour whip restored following a rebellion over the two-child benefit cap.
The pair had the whip suspended in July last year after they voted against the Government on the King’s speech, along with five of their colleagues.
The group backed an SNP motion calling for an end to the two-child benefit cap.
Four of the rebels – Ian Byrne, Richard Burgon, Imran Hussein and Rebecca Long-Bailey – had the whip reinstated six months later.
The return of Mr McDonnell and Ms Begum to the Labour benches comes ahead of the party’s annual conference in Liverpool this weekend.
Zarah Sultana, the seventh rebel, resigned from Labour to co-found a new left-wing party with former leader Jeremy Corbyn.
Mr McDonnell’s and Ms Begum’s suspensions are understood to have ended on Friday following discussions with the chief whip, Jonathan Reynolds.
It comes as ministers face rising pressure to abolish the two-child benefit cap, with both Labour deputy leadership candidates expressing opposition to the policy along with voices from outside Parliament such as Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham.
The issue is expected to be a key theme of Labour’s annual conference, which begins in Liverpool on Sunday.
Following the decision, Ms Begum said she would “continue to expose the two-child limit at every opportunity”.
“I was never told why my suspension was extended and only learned about it through a news article,” the MP for Poplar and Limehouse said in a statement on X.
“I want to be clear: I will continue to oppose the two-child limit at every opportunity.
“Child poverty is a matter of conscience for me: 44.6 per cent of children in my constituency live in poverty.
“Calls to scrap the policy are growing, from the Children’s Commissioner to members of the Government’s own child poverty taskforce.
“It is unconscionable that other colleagues remain suspended for voting with their conscience against cuts to disability benefits, along with the longest-serving black MP Diane Abbott, while others retain the whip, like Lord Mandelson.”
