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Sir Keir Starmer suspended several Labour MPs on Wednesday afternoon following this month’s large-scale rebellion over welfare cuts.
The intervention is a dramatic attempt to restore party discipline ahead of the summer recess after Starmer’s government was forced to drop plans to cut £5bn from the welfare bill by slashing payments to disabled people.
One Labour veteran said party whips were targeting those who were “the main organisers and spokespeople urging the government to change direction” on welfare reform, adding: “The executions are continuing.”
The Labour party refused to comment on reports about the impending suspensions on Wednesday.
Neil Duncan-Jordan, a leading figure in the backbench rebellion against Starmer’s controversial welfare cuts, confirmed that he lost the whip on Wednesday.
“Since being elected I have consistently spoken up for my constituents on a range of issues, including most recently on cuts to disability benefits. I understood this could come at a cost, but I couldn’t support making disabled people poorer,” said the MP for Poole, who was first elected last year. He said he remained a Labour party member.
Brian Leishman, a new Scotland Labour MP who has been a persistent critic of the government and voted against the recent welfare reforms, was also reported to have been suspended.
In a statement on Wednesday afternoon he did not confirm or deny those reports but said: “I am a proud Labour member and I remain committed to the party. I wish to remain a Labour MP . . . but I firmly believe that it is not my duty as an MP to make people poorer, especially those that have suffered because of austerity.”
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