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| 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.
