As a former Labour MP who treated the whips with the contempt they deserved in October 2001 (the chief whip told me that war is not a matter of conscience), I feel qualified to judge Keir Starmer’s clumsy submission for the Stalinist of the Year award (Keir Starmer removed Labour whip from four ‘persistent rebel’ MPs, 16 July).
Starmer fails to topple the megalomaniac Donald Trump for the honour, since the prime minister considers an MP’s three votes against the government over 12 months, out of 271 divisions, as being “persistent”. The rebels aren’t persistent – they are principled.
Paul WB Marsden
Oakenholt, Flintshire
• I am saddened by the decision to remove the whip from Rachael Maskell. Before the 2019 election, I phoned many potential Labour voters in her constituency of York Central. While I was surprised at the level of distrust voiced about the party, I was impressed by the number of those who spontaneously referred to Rachael, praising her as a committed and caring MP. Labour can ill afford to lose such an outstanding representative.
Sheila Cross
Newby Wiske, North Yorkshire
• This weak, self-serving prime minister has disenfranchised me. I voted Labour and Chris Hinchliff is a good constituency MP who certainly represented my views on universal credit and personal independence payments and on Gaza. If he stands in 2029, and I am still alive, I will vote for him again – if the current cabinet has been replaced with visionaries or if he stands as an independent.
Margaret Waddingham
Ware, Hertfordshire
• Have an opinion on anything you’ve read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section.
