‘These are matters for the chief whip, but there’s always routes back for people.’
Leader of the House of Commons Lucy Powell has indicated that four of the Labour MPs Keir Starmer suspended this week could have the whip reinstated at some point.
Brian Leishman, Chris Hinchcliff, Neil Duncan-Jordan and Rachael Maskell were four of the MPs suspended this week pending a party investigation into “persistent breaches of party discipline”.
Three other MPs – Rosena Allin-Khan, Bell Ribeiro-Addy and Mohammad Yasin – had their trade envoy roles removed.
The seven MPs all voted against the government’s welfare cuts on Wednesday 9 July.
Last night, the longest-serving female MP, Diane Abbott, was suspended for repeating comments about racism she was suspended for in 2023.
In an interview with LabourList, Powell said the decision to suspend the four MPs was the right call, but said the door is open for them to return.
She said: “Losing the whip – that’s not what we’re about, we’re about building a Labour family, but we do have certain expectations that people will not actively not support the government.
“These are matters for the chief whip, but there’s always routes back for people.”
Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward
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