Labour suspends seven MPs over two-child benefit cap vote

Tuesday’s amendment was defeated by 363 votes to 103, marking the first significant test of the new Labour government’s authority.

• Vivek Mishra
• 24 July, 2024

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By: Vivek Mishra

LABOUR MPs Imran Hussain, Apsana Begum, and Zarah Sultana are among seven who have been suspended for six months after voting last night (23) against the government to scrap the two-child benefit cap.

The amendment, proposed by the SNP (expand this pls), aimed to remove the policy that restricts universal credit or child tax credit for families with more than two children.

Other Labour MPs who supported the SNP motion were former shadow chancellor John McDonnell, Richard Burgon, Ian Byrne, and Rebecca Long-Bailey.

Tuesday’s amendment was defeated by 363 votes to 103, marking the first significant test of the new Labour government’s authority led by prime minister Sir Keir Starmer.

The suspension means these MPs will sit as independents. Most rebels were allies of former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who also supported the SNP motion.

Sultana, speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, said she was unaware she would lose the whip, but maintained it wouldn’t have changed her vote. She suggested that a wealth tax could fund the removal of the cap.

“Prior to the vote, Apsana Begum released a statement on Tuesday, saying that scrapping the two-child benefit limit “could lift hundreds of thousands of children out of poverty and send out a positive message of hope.”

“People in Poplar and Limehouse voted for change, and they are looking to Parliament – to the Labour government – to deliver,” she said.”

The government’s suspension of the MPs is a signal to deter future rebellions. Despite this, many Labour MPs hope the party will decide to scrap the cap in the coming months.

The government has maintained that it cannot make promises without securing funding, repeatedly stating that the fiscal situation inherited from the previous Conservative government has necessitated challenging decisions.

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar and Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham have also called for changes to the cap, citing its harmful effects.

Kim Johnson and Rosie Duffield were among 19 Labour MPs who signed another amendment to end the cap, which was not put to a vote. Some critics of the cap, including Ian Lavery and Nadia Whittome, abstained from voting. Labour veteran Diane Abbott did not participate due to personal reasons, but criticised the suspensions.

Emma Lewell-Buck, a Labour MP who signed a rebel amendment, did not vote against the government, stating that upcoming votes, like the Autumn Budget, would be more effective for scrapping the cap, the BBC reported.

Despite the rebellion, Starmer successfully passed the King’s Speech. Labour also defeated Conservative attempts to amend the speech to promote Tory policies.

Starmer has cautioned there is “no easy solution” to eradicating child poverty, but acknowledged the strong convictions of MPs who challenge the policy’s continuation. He is set to confront his inaugural weekly Prime Minister’s Questions today (24).