Labour refuses to allow 'rebel' MPs back into the party because they 'haven’t been punished enough'

A group of MPs who were stripped of the whip after opposing Government plans to cut benefits have been told they won’t be brought back into the fold for months to come, in what’s been described as a bid to stop another rebellion.

It comes after several policy reversals by Sir Keir’s government — including over plans to restrict winter fuel payments — which critics say show pressure to retreat from policies unpopular with Labour members.

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Rachael Maskell, Neil Duncan Jordan, Brian Leishman and Chris Hinchliff were booted out in July for repeated breaches of party discipline – including voting against the Government’s controversial welfare bill.

Mr Duncan Jordan — who became Labour’s first ever MP for Poole, Dorset, at last year’s election — told LBC he and his colleagues were recently asked to meet with Chief Whip Jonathan Reynolds to discuss their suspensions.

He said he had been left with the impression that the party would not accept them back in this year – meaning they will have to spend at least six months in limbo.

Sources close to the Whips Office said that they have not put a time frame on a possible return to the party.

They told LBC they want to resolve issues with the rebel MPs as soon as possible and pointed to the fact that John McDonnell and Aspana Begun have been ‘swiftly’ let back into the fold since the reshuffle.

Mr Jordan said there had been “an indication that we haven’t served our time yet” and that some in the party believe readmitting the group now “would be too soon” and could “upset members who feel we haven’t been punished enough yet.”

He added: "In any other workplace, you would not be allowed to suspend people from their work, and not give them a clear timeline about when process was going to take place and how they were going to be able to come back in. In this place, you don't get any of that detail whatsoever.

"To be left sort of hanging, not knowing when it is that you're going to be allowed to come back in or not, is really unacceptable.

"I didn’t come here to be difficult. There were certain things that were just against my principles and my values, and I couldn’t square those.”

He accused the party of running an "opaque" disciplinary process, adding: “I was suspended within 12 months of being an MP. I don't know if that's a record, but it wasn't a record I wanted.

“Tony Blair, when he was Prime Minister, never suspended any Labour MPs for voting against the government in the way that I have done. He certainly didn't need to take punitive action against people."

"This party and this government has been different. I think it's wrong in the stance that it's taken. I think more pluralism would be good for our democracy.

"This is about process for me — procedure, process, natural justice, fairness… I think it was unfair I was suspended."

Another suspended MP, Brian Leishman, backed his colleague’s criticism, saying the group had already “served their time” and that the initial suspension "was unfair."

He told LBC he and the other rebel MPs had been representing “true Labour Party values,” and claimed their punishment sent “a message to the new intake” of MPs from the 2024 election to “get in line.”

Mr Leishman said their treatment raised questions about “internal party democracy” and said the Labour Party should encourage debate rather than punish dissent.

He said: “Three out of the four of us were the new intake of Labour MPs from 2024. I think there was a message there of, ‘get in line – it won’t be tolerated.’

"But time has been served now. We should be welcomed back.

"It’s an essential role as a backbencher to be a course corrector and a conscience for the Government.

"We need to be better at internal party democracy."

More than 120 Labour MPs signed a rebel amendment to the Government’s welfare bill in June, which would have slashed Universal Credit payments for disabled people and tightened eligibility for Personal Independence Payment (PIP), in a bid to save £5billion for the Treasury.

In the end, 47 Labour MPs rebelled against the government's proposed cuts to welfare and forced ministers to water down the plans.

Last week the government said it would come forward with a review into the disability benefits system, led by Sir Stephen Timms.

But it emerged that the review is not expected to find any savings from the ballooning costs of the PIP bill.

Sir Keir has previously described the welfare projections as unsustainable.

In September, the ex-shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, and MP Apsana Begum were let back into the party fold – a year after they voted against the government over the two-child benefit cap.

Last year, seven left wing MPs backed an SNP motion to scrap the cap just days after Labour’s 2024 election win.

It’s expected that the party will scrap the cap formally within weeks, with a decision possible at the Chancellor’s Budget in November.

A spokesperson for the Labour party said the Chief Whip has been having “constructive” conversations with the MPs, which will “continue”.

They said they do not comment on whipping decisions publicly.