Keir Starmer has suspended seven Labour MPs for six months after they defied the party to support an amendment scrapping the two-child benefit cap. The unprecedented action, announced late on Monday, removes the whip from former shadow chancellor John McDonnell, Apsana Begum, Richard Burgon, Ian Byrne, Imran Hussain, Rebecca Long-Bailey and Zarah Sultana.
The rebellion, which backed a Scottish National Party amendment to end the policy introduced in 2017, was defeated by 363 votes to 103, a majority of 260. A further 42 Labour MPs abstained, and the vote was followed by a robust whipping operation that drew criticism from within the party.
Nottingham East MP Nadia Whittome, who did not vote for the amendment but has called for the cap to be abolished, said: “No MP should have lost the whip for their vote this evening, especially on a policy that almost everyone in Labour opposes. This does not breed a healthy culture.”
In a move that appeared to acknowledge the strength of feeling, Starmer indicated on Monday that he would consider lifting the cap as part of a review into child poverty. Education secretary Bridget Phillipson said removing the restriction was among measures under consideration.
The SNP amendment was signed by 21 MPs, including Green party MP Siân Berry, Plaid Cymru and three independents, among them former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. Berry said the vote “showed the value of Green MPs able to vote with our conscience – and not under the pressure of the party whip”. Labour MPs Rosie Duffield and Kim Johnson were among those who did not rebel; Duffield was unable to vote after testing positive for Covid, while Johnson said she voted with the government “for unity”.
