WHIP RESTORED TO FOUR REBELS

Ian Byrne, Rebecca Long-Bailey, Richard Burgon and Imran Hussain

Four of the seven hard left MPs suspended from Labour have now been readmitted.  The seven members of the Socialist Campaign Group had the party whip removed last July as Keir Starmer sought to take a hard line against backbench rebels at the first opportunity.  That chance arose when the seven voted in favour of an SNP proposal to scrap the two-child benefit cap.

The four restored are Ian Byrne (Liverpool West Derby), Rebecca Long-Bailey (Salford), Richard Burgon (Leeds East) and Imran Hussain (Bradford East).  The hierarchy was clearly in no rush to readmit the rebels as the initial six month suspension had already overrun, while it remains unclear when or if the remaining three will regain the party whip.

Those not readmitted at this stage are Apsana Begum (Poplar & Limehouse), John McDonnell (Hayes & Harlington) and Zarah Sultana (Coventry South).  The trio are particularly vocal on the question of Palestine, alluded to in a post by Sultana on X.  Begum and McDonnell also responded to their continued suspensions on X.

Sultana had posted twice leading up to the news, both of which were attacks on the UK in relation to Gaza.  On Wednesday morning she accused the UK and other Western nations of being complicit in 'genocide'.  Late on Tuesday she challenged the UK government to condemn President Trump's proposals to resettle Palestinians outside of Gaza, which she quite correctly described as 'ethnic cleansing'.

It's a shame Zarah cannot represent the majority of her constituents, who are more concerned with what's in their wage packets and being able to walk the streets safely - than events taking place thousands of miles away.

Her comrade Apsana Begum chose to dial down the Palestine cause in her response.  She repeated her opposition to the two-child benefit cap, but her post garnered a strong backlash with many users critical of benefits culture: "Have fewer children so you can afford to feed them" was one such comment.

Begum was the focus of a protracted effort to remove her as a Labour candidate in the years prior to the last election.  The precise motives for specifically wanting her out were never clear, but in the end it came to nothing as she was re-selected and then re-elected in July, albeit with a majority slashed by more than half.  For whatever reason, the Labour leadership want Begum out.

The case for McDonnell's continued suspension is more cut and dried, as he (and his pal Corbyn) were recently interviewed by Met Police in light of a police confrontation with pro-Palestine protesters.  The pair were accused of being part of a group that allegedly pushed through police lines during a demonstration in the capital last month.  Both men deny that version of events, but McDonnell appears to be content with his extended suspension as he awaits news of potential police charges.

McDonnell will be well aware that as a close friend and comrade of Jeremy Corbyn, he does not have to step too far outside of the line for Starmer to expel him permanently.  McDonnell would find it much harder to get re-elected as an independent, a feat achieved with relative ease by Corbyn last year.

STARMER CRACKS THE WHIP

Top: Rebecca Long-Bailey, John McDonnell, Zarah Sultana and Richard Burgon
Bottom: Imran Hussain, Apsana Begum and Ian Byrne

Keir Starmer sent a clear message on Tuesday that he will not tolerate dissidents, suspending the party whip from seven hard left MPs following a minor rebellion in the Commons.  The seven were all from the Socialist Campaign Group of MPs.  Of course, when you have a 174 seat majority, one can afford to suspend a fair number - in fact Starmer could have suspended the entire Socialist Campaign Group of 24 MPs if they had all voted accordingly.  The seven, who include the likes of John McDonnell and Rebecca Long-Bailey, will remain suspended for six months and sit as independents during that time.

It was an SNP-backed amendment that led to the first rebellion of Starmer's premiership.  The amendment demanded an end to the two child benefit cap, introduced by the Tories in 2017.  Naturally, those on the left favour a never-ending flow of state handouts to families, regardless of the size and ability to earn a living.

The government won the vote 363-103.  The Lib Dems, Greens, Plaid and all the Northern Ireland parties supported the SNP motion.  The Conservatives abstained, while 41 Labour MPs abstained or were absent, including eight members of the Socialist Campaign Group - Diane Abbott, Mary Foy, Kim Johnson, Ian Lavery, Andy McDonald, Bell Ribeiro-Addy, Jon Trickett and Nadia Whittome.  The remainder of the SCG voted with the government, one of whom tried to con her way out of her 'scabby' vote...

Dawn Butler declared on X that she supported an end to the two child benefit cap, publishing a letter she had written to Liz Kendall, who is now Secretary of State for Work and Pensions.  The BBC even erroneously reported that Butler had abstained on the vote.  She didn't, her vote is recorded with the noes, alongside SCG comrades (or scabs, as the left might say) Tahir Ali, Olivia Blake, Marsha de Cordova, Clive Lewis, Rachael Maskell, Grahame Morris, Kate Osamor and Kate Osborne.  None of these others tried to weasel their way out like Butler tried (and failed, judging by the comments on her post).

This significant three-way split for Labour's hard left will no doubt please centrists like Starmer.

When Starmer won the Labour leadership in 2020, it soon became clear that the hard left - under which he had served as a shadow minister - were going to feel the squeeze.  Former front bench comrades such as Corbyn, Abbott, McDonnell and co were going to the sword at the first opportunity.  Corbyn was felled, but got his revenge earlier this month by robbing Starmer of Islington North.  Abbott was felled, then she was readmitted.  McDonnell kept his head down and kept his seat.  Others who were suspended, expelled and/or deselected were Lloyd Russell-Moyle, Sam Tarry and Claudia Webbe.

BYRNE WINS BY 12 VOTES

In a blow to Keir Starmer, hard left MP Ian Byrne has narrowly fended off an attempt to deselect him from the ultra safe seat of Liverpool West Derby.  His place on the Westminster gravy train was being challenged by two councillors, one of whom dropped out of the contest on the day of the vote.  Cllr Kimberley Whitehead, of Hyndburn Borough Council, withdrew hours before Sunday's vote and backed Cllr Anthony Lavelle for the seat.  This was surely a realisation (or a nudge from above) that the pair of them standing would split the vote and give Byrne an easy win.

It was the correct assumption, as Byrne ended up defeating the Liverpool councillor by the slender margin of just twelve votes.

The hustings meeting and subsequent vote is said to have been a tense affair, with security guards on the doors and claims that some members were 'barred from entry'.  Byrne had accused the Lavelle camp of 'intimidation' earlier in the campaign, claims which were furiously denied.  The MP had also been threatening 'legal action', presumably in the event that he lost the vote.

Byrne was congratulated upon his victory by many of his comrades in the Socialist Campaign Group, including Jeremy Corbyn, Zarah Sultana and Nadia Whittome.

Also congratulating Byrne was the member for Poplar and Limehouse.  Apsana Begum is thought to be the third hard left MP to face the threat of deselection, although there is still no news of challengers.  Her London colleague Sam Tarry was deselected last month.

BYRNE'S BATTLE

Ian Byrne

Labour MP Ian Byrne faces local competition to retain his place as a Labour candidate at the next general election.  Byrne is the third hard left MP to have lost 'trigger ballots' meaning that he must go through a reselection process to be the party's candidate for Liverpool West Derby.  He will go up against Liverpool councillor Anthony Lavelle and Hyndburn councillor Kimberley Whitehead for the ultra safe Labour seat, boasting a current majority of 29,984.

Byrne has attracted some impressive support for his bid.  Last weekend he was joined on the campaign trail by Liverpool metro mayor Steve Rotheram and fellow Scouser Andy Burnham.  The endorsement of Burnham is of particular interest, as Burnham is much closer to Starmer in terms of politics than Corbyn.  While Burnham likes to paint himself as the 'saviour of the north' he actually backed Starmer in the 2020 leadership election, rather than either of the two candidates representing constituencies in the Greater Manchester region he represents as metro mayor.  His endorsement of Byrne at this stage could be seen as a sleight to Starmer, who would clearly benefit from the loss of another hard left MP.

A banner unfurled at Liverpool's Anfield football stadium recently

With such a safe seat and huge salary at stake, perhaps it will come as no surprise that the West Derby contest has turned ugly fast.  Byrne posted a statement on his social media channels last weekend alleging 'intimidation' from an unnamed rival campaign, including unnamed politicians.  This was angrily denied by Cllr Harry Doyle, a supporter of Cllr Lavelle's campaign, who called on Byrne to retract his statement.  Rival campaign meetings for both Byrne and Lavelle took place next door to each other on the day of the alleged 'intimidation'.

Local party members will vote on who will be West Derby's next Labour candidate (and inevitably MP) on Sunday 20 November, following a hustings.  That should be a fiery evening!

IAN BYRNE TRIGGERED

Ian Byrne

A third member of Labour's Socialist Campaign Group is to face a reselection battle for the next general election.  Foul-mouthed Ian Byrne will follow in the footsteps of comrades Sam Tarry and Apsana Begum when members vote on whether he will represent Labour at the next election.  Like Tarry and Begum, Byrne was part of the 2019 hard left intake of MPs.  A Liverpool councillor, he was selected after the incumbent for Liverpool West Derby - Stephen Twigg - inexplicably stood down.

Before being elected to the safe Labour seat, Byrne was revealed to have posted several sweary social media posts targeting female politicians.  In 2015 he posted a meme to his Facebook page featuring Conservative peer Michelle Mone and wrote: "Hit this c*** where it hurts".  He also described Tory MP Esther McVey as a 'bastard'.  Byrne subsequently deleted his Facebook account.

Having lost a string of 'trigger ballots' in his constituency, Byrne will now face a reselection vote if and when alternative candidates come forward.  Sam Tarry is the only other Labour MP to face such a vote in this parliamentary term and he lost, meaning that he will no longer be the Labour MP for Ilford South after the next election.  His London colleague Apsana Begum will also face a reselection vote in the near future.

Byrne responded to the reselection news with the following statement and repeated Tarry's insinuations that the electronic voting process is potentially compromised.

Under Jeremy Corbyn's leadership, the threshold for MPs to face reselection was lowered from 50 per cent to a third.  This came following a surge in Labour membership and the intention was to oust moderate MPs and replace them with far left Corbynistas.  However, many of those Corbyn loyalists left the party after Starmer took over and it's now far left MPs like Byrne who face the threat of deselection.  There's some irony there.