Keir Starmer has suspended three MPs actively opposed to the government’s welfare reforms.
One of them, Chris Hinchliff, had said he didn’t mind losing the whip over his opposition to the cuts, while another, Neil Duncan-Jordan, said they were not a “very Labour thing to do”.
All three were only elected a year ago, Tamara says.
And there could be more to come.
“Rachel Maskell, a York MP very active against the welfare changes and winter fuel allowance, is having meetings at the moment,” Tamara reveals.
Now, there were over 100 Labour MPs who opposed the welfare changes in different ways – and in the final vote, on much watered down cuts, 47 voted against the government.
The suspensions appear to impact “just a handful of the most disloyal”, but the timing – as MPs go away for the summer break – is telling.
“Keir Starmer wants to send a message to Labour MPs that there is a line they cannot cross.”
The three suspended MPs are understood to be Brian Leishman, Chris Hinchliff and Neil Duncan-Jordan.
All three voted against the government’s planned welfare reforms as part of a wider rebellion earlier this month, and all were first elected at last year’s election.
A report into the Prevent programme has called for a series of reforms, as well as the creation of a taskforce.
The home secretary ordered the independent review by Lord David Anderson KC following the Southport attack in July 2024.