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.

LABOUR'S PAKISTANI LOVE-IN

75 years ago the end of the British Raj triggered the independence of both India and Pakistan.  While some Labour politicians were largely silent about the former, many of them wallowed in the celebration of the latter.  Sadiq Khan tweeted or retweeted about Pakistan no less than ten times on Sunday.  No great surprise there really, but it was Starmer's tweet that was seen as a slap in the face for a generation of British girls.  "Britain's a far richer country for the contribution of the British Pakistani community" he crowed.  Thousands of victims of Pakistani grooming gangs up and down the country may beg to differ about their 'contribution'...

Needless to say, Starmer's tweet was not well received.  "How exactly has Britain grown richer from the Pakistani diaspora to the UK?" asked Mark Cropper, "I see people who remain separate, who reject British culture and adhere to the depraved morals of the Third World."  Alan Quinn wrote: "Rape gangs, hordes of thugs, honour killings in their own families, female genital mutilation, animal cruelty, Sharia law, disrespect for British laws, forcing cinemas to close, no women's rights?"

The Labour leader did not mention the independence of India on his Twitter timeline.

Starmer may be prepared to stand in front of a Union flag these days, but make no mistake - he and his party are no friends of Britain.

SPEAKER'S MUHAMMAD MOMENT

Lindsay Hoyle and Imran Hussain

Commons speaker Lindsay Hoyle has been forced into an embarrassing apology after referring to a Muslim Labour MP as 'Muhammad'.  Unfortunately for Hoyle, the MP's name is actually Imran.

The incident occurred during a debate on Tuesday regarding 'racism in cricket' (yes, they really held a parliamentary debate after one cricketer was referred to by a racial term once in ten years).  Hoyle introduced the member for Bradford East as 'Muhammad Hussain'.  Imran Hussain then rose to his feet as someone is heard correcting the Speaker.

In response to Hoyle's faux pas, the subtitles on Parliament's live stream automatically generated the name 'Mohammad Yasin'.  Yasin is the Labour MP for Bedford, but he was not participating in the debate.

Hoyle has since apologised:  "This was an honest mistake.  I called Imran as soon as I could to apologise - and he accepted".  Imagine the outcry if this slip of the tongue was from the mouth of a Tory minister?  There would be howls of Islamophobia and a media witch hunt lasting days, if not weeks.  As it happens, Sir Lindsay was elected a Labour MP.

Click below to see his embarrassing blunder.