Richard Burgon, John McDonnell, Imran Hussain, Apsana Begum, Zarah Sultana, Rebecca Long-Bailey and Ian Byrne have all had the whip suspended for six months, at which point the decision will be reviewed.
Sir Keir Starmer has suspended seven Labour MPs from the parliamentary party after they voted against the government to call for the scrapping of the two-child benefit cap.
Richard Burgon, John McDonnell, Imran Hussain, Apsana Begum, Zarah Sultana, Rebecca Long-Bailey and Ian Byrne have all had the whip suspended for six months, at which point the decision will be reviewed.
The Labour rebels voted alongside the Liberal Democrats, Green Party, Plaid Cymru, the SDLP, the Alliance Party, and independent MPs like Jeremy Corbyn, backing an amendment to the King’s Speech proposed by the SNP.
With a majority of more than 174, Sir Keir Starmer was able to see off the rebellion by 363 votes to 103.
Reacting to her suspension, Ms Sultana said: “I have been informed by the chief whip anthe Labour Party leadership that the whip has been withdrawn from me for voting to scrap the two-child benefit cap, which would lift 330,000 children out of poverty.
“I will always stand up for the most vulnerable in our society.”
A Labour source told Sky News political editor Beth Rigby that the decision was taken “to show that we expect Labour MPs to support the programme we were elected on”.
Mr McDonnell was a serial rebel under previous Labour governments.
What is the two-child benefit cap?
In short, the measure prevents parents from claiming Universal Credit or a child tax credit for a third child, with a few exceptions.
The cap was introduced by then chancellor George Osborne as part of a raft of changes to the benefits system in 2015, but came into effect in April 2017.
Source: https://news.sky.com/story/labour-suspend-seven-mps-who-rebelled-over-two-child-benefit-cap-13183879
