KEIR Starmer has stripped seven Labour MPs of the whip after they rebelled against the Government by backing a motion to scrap the two-child benefit cap.
Ahead of the vote, the Labour leader had said there is “no silver bullet” to end child poverty, but acknowledged the “passion” of those who were considering opposing the continuation of the Tory measure.
SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn said Labour had “failed its first major test in Government” by choosing not to “deliver meaningful change from years of Tory misrule”.
READ MORE: Keir Starmer wins two-child battle but vote points to war for Labour's soul
Here’s a look at the Labour MPs who were suspended.
John McDonnell
Former shadow chancellor John McDonnell (below) was among those suspended following last night’s vote.
He’s been the MP for Hayes and Harlington since 1997 and had said before the vote that although he “didn’t like voting for other parties amendments,” he was “following Keir Starmer’s example as he said put country before party”.
McDonnell also previously unsuccessfully stood to be Labour leader in 2007 against Gordon Brown.
Rebecca Long-Bailey
Elected in 2015, Rebecca Long-Bailey (below) served on Jeremy Corbyn’s frontbench team as shadow business secretary.
She is currently the MP for Salford and had initially served in Starmer’s shadow frontbench, although was sacked for sharing an article which contained an “antisemitic conspiracy theory”.
Zarah Sultana
The MP for Coventry South also voted in favour of the SNP’s amendment on the cap, saying she would “always stand up for the most vulnerable in society”.
However, speaking to Good Morning Britain on Wednesday, she said she “slept well knowing I took a stand against child poverty”.
She added that she saw the email saying she had the whip removed on the way home from the vote last night.
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Sultana added the Labour Party must do everything they can “to make sure that not a single child has to live in unnecessary hardship and poverty”.
Imran Hussain
An MP since 2015, Imran Hussain has served on the shadow frontbench under both Corbyn and Starmer.
However, this came to an end in November last year as Hussain (below) resigned in protest over Starmer’s continued refusal to call for a ceasefire in Gaza.
He said he was “disappointed” to be suspended but that his constituents are “amongst the worst affected by a policy that every organisation fighting child poverty has urged the government to scrap”.
Richard Burgon
The MP for Leeds East since 2015 has also had the whip removed and said on social media that he was “disappointed by the decision to suspend the whip”.
He was made a shadow minister in 2017 following a wave of mass resignations.
Burgon said he backed the UK Government’s approach, but that he wanted to see a plan to scrap the cap and pressed Starmer to “come forward with a plan on this”.
Apsana Begum
Like Sultana, Begum (below) was first elected as an MP in 2019 and has previously criticised Labour for their stance on Islamophobia.
On the two-child cap, she said she voted the way she did because the cap “has contributed to rising and deepening levels of child poverty and food insecurity” in her constituency”.
READ MORE: Scottish Labour MP says 'contact your MSP' in two-child cap email
She serves as the MP for Poplar and Limehouse.
Ian Byrne
Byrne is another MP who was first elected in 2019, and said he voted against the cap as experts had said it is the best way to “immediately impact” child poverty rates.
He is currently the MP for Liverpool West Derby.
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