Keir Starmer wanted to seem tough by sacking rebel MPs but he looks like a petulant child.uk
The Prime Minister suffered humiliation over planned cuts to disability benefits, and he’s taking it out on junior MPs.
Sir Keir Starmer suspended four MPs (Image: Getty)
Keir Starmer clearly thought he would look strong by suspending four Labour MPs who led opposition to cuts to disability benefits. He doesn’t. He looks like a petulant child. The Prime Minister suffered humiliation when he was forced to make a u-turn,and he’s taking it out on junior MPs.
It’s true that the MPs suspended, Rachael Maskell, Brian Leishman, Neil Duncan-Jordan and Chris Hinchliff, have caused problems for the Government. They were vocal opponents of plans to remove Personal Independence Payments, which is paid to help disabled people with living costs, from 800,000 people. That includes people currently claiming the money and those expected to apply in the future.
In particular, they argued that people with disabilities should be consulted before any changes are introduced. The problem for Sir Keir is that this is now official government policy. He and his Cabinet colleagues have accepted that the “rebels” were right.
Proposed cuts have been scrapped and a new review has been launched, which will indeed consult disabled people.
The Government’s official line is that the new policy – to consult disabled people – is actually better than the old one.
So getting mad at the MPs who supported the new policy doesn’t make any sense. It just makes Sir Keir look like a poor loser.
And by the way, while the MPs were suspended by the chief whip, the orders came from the Prime Minister. That’s how it works.
A source accusing the MPs of “k***-headery” just makes the whole thing appear even more child-like.
Home Office Minister Jess Phillips has been defending the Government’s position as she spoke to the media today.
She said: “We were elected as a team under a banner and under a manifesto, and we have to seek to work together, and if you are acting in a manner that is to undermine the ability of the Government to deliver those things, I don’t know what you expect.”
The trouble is that Labour’s manifesto didn’t say anything about cutting Personal Independence Payments.
But it did say: “Labour is committed to championing the rights of disabled people and to the principle of working with them, so that their views and voices will be at the heart of all we do”.
If anything, the “rebel” MPs support the manifesto, at least on this issue, more than Ms Phillips, Sir Keir Starmer or the Chief Whip, Sir Alan Campbell.
It’s also noticeable that three of the four MPs suspended are newbies, first elected in 2024.
The exception is Rachael Maskell, who could be called a leader of the rebellion. But the other real leaders were Dame Meg Hillier, chair of the Commons Treasury Committee, and Debbie Abrahams, chair of the Commons Work and Pensions Committee.
These well-established and senior Labour MPs have been untouched, Instead, the Government has taken its frustrations out on more junior MPs.
The Government’s defenders would probably point out that the four suspended MPs voted against the Government’s Universal Credit Bill (previously called the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill) even after all the changes had been made. But they weren’t alone in that either – a total of 47 MPs voted against the Bill at that point.
Sir Keir isn’t popular with Labour MPs. He’s not a great party manager and doesn’t seem to be much of a people person.
He clearly wanted to get a grip on his party and nip further rebellions in the bud.
But he may haver under-estimated his own party. This childish tantrum won’t make Labour MPs more likely to support him. If anything, it will have the opposite effect.
