Labour readmits four MPs suspended for rebelling

Four MPs suspended by Labour for voting against the government on the two-child benefit cap have been readmitted into the parliamentary party.

Labour has restored the whip to Richard Burgon, Ian Byrne, Imran Hussain and Rebecca Long-Bailey, after they spent just over six months as independents.

Three others who rebelled in July's vote - former shadow chancellor John McDonnell, Apsana Begum and Zarah Sultana - remain suspended.

All seven MPs are on the left of the party but the three who have not had their suspension lifted have continued to be critical of the government over the past six months.

Writing on X, Sultana said she had only found out the news from a media report.

The MP for Coventry South added: "Turns out speaking up for Palestine is still a punishable offence."

Sultana has been a vocal critic of the government's position on Gaza, saying it had "actively facilitated genocide" in the territory in a social media post last week.

She also voted against cutting winter fuel payments for millions of pensioners in September, alongside Begum, Burgon, Byrne and McDonnell.

McDonnell, who served as shadow chancellor under Jeremy Corbyn, said he was pleased four of his colleagues had been readmitted but disappointed Sultana and Begum had not.

Writing on X, he said he was "relaxed about my own position as I've made clear I don't expect whip back until we know whether police are to charge me following recent Palestinian demo after which I was interviewed under caution".

McDonnell and Corbyn were both interviewed under caution by the Metropolitan Police, who are investigating whether there was a coordinated effort by organisers to breach conditions imposed on the rally in London.

Responding to the news on X, Begum said: "Almost half of all children in my borough grow up in poverty.

"I want to be clear: I will always stand up for the people of Poplar and Limehouse."

Momentum, the left-wing campaign group set up to support Corbyn's leadership, said it was "appalled that three socialist Labour MPs remain suspended".

"This is just another example of the leadership's petty authoritarianism in an attempt to stifle dissent," a spokesperson said.

The six-month suspension came after they voted for an SNP proposal to scrap the two-child benefit cap, which prevents almost all parents from claiming Universal Credit or child tax credit for more than two children.

Although the government won the vote comfortably, it marked the first Commons rebellion of Sir Keir Starmer's premiership.

Some MPs on the right of the Labour Party had been pushing for McDonnell in particular not to have the whip restored.

In part, this was related to the recent Palestinian demonstration where one MP told the BBC his behaviour there should "be a material factor" in deciding whether he could re-join the fold.

But, for some on the right, the political prize would be to see McDonnell joining Corbyn's group of independent MPs, publicly severing the cord between the current and previous leaderships of the party.

The clear message to voters would be that there will never be a return to the Corbyn era, they believe.

But McDonnell seems far from keen to oblige and has stressed many times his allegiance to Labour, if not to the current leadership.

And he clearly believes if the police do not take any further action over the demo, then the case for re-joining the four left-wing colleagues who have had the whip restored will be strong.