Keir Starmer has faced a rebellion from over a dozen Labour MPs over a Tory-led bid to refer him to a parliamentary watchdog to consider whether he misled the Commons over the Peter Mandelson scandal.
Rebel MPs break ranks
In total, 15 Labour MPs broke ranks, including former Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell and Emma Lewell, who said the three-line whip to vote against was "wrong". Other rebels included left-wing MPs Richard Burgon, Rebecca Long-Bailey, Nadia Whittome, Kate Osborne, and Apsana Begum.
The government defeated the bid by a majority of 112 as MPs voted by 335 to 223 to reject the move to trigger a Commons sleaze inquiry. Ahead of the vote, Cabinet Minister Darren Jones accused Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch of "ranting incoherence" and branded the move a "politically motivated spectacle". He told MPs: "Rather than focus on the issues that affect our constituents and the country most, what do the opposition benches do? They try to shift the goalposts and have tried again and again to make their arguments fit. Today alone we have heard them bounce from one accusation to another in a desperate search for something that will stick."
Starmer's response
It came after the Prime Minister told Labour MPs the move to refer him to the Privileges Committee over whether he misled the Commons was a "stunt" by political opponents trying to inflict damage before the May elections. Addressing the Parliamentary Labour Party on Monday evening, he said: "I have responsibility for being totally transparent with you, with Parliament and the British public. I take that very seriously as well. But this is not about a lack of transparency. This is a political stunt by our opponents who want to bring us down, obscure our message, stop us getting on with our work. And the timing tells you everything nine days before local elections."
Lewell's criticism
But during the debate on the motion on Tuesday, Labour MP Emma Lewell said she cannot understand why the Prime Minister would not appear in front of the Privileges Committee in a bid to "clear his name". The MP for South Shields said: "I have watched this whole sorry saga play out for weeks now, like the public, I feel let down, disappointed and I am angry. Peter Mandelson should never have been appointed, this was a fundamental failure of judgment. I feel the way that today's vote has been handled by the Government smacks, once again, of being out of touch and disconnected from the public mood. The fact that MPs like me are being whipped into voting against this motion is, in my view, wrong. It has played into the terrible narrative that there is something to hide and good, decent colleagues will be accused of being complicit in a cover-up."
