Keir Starmer Has Sparked A Furious Backlash By Suspending 4 Left-Wing MPs - And No.10 Are Delighted

Say what you like about Keir Starmer, but you can’t deny he enjoys a fight with the Left.From the early days of his time as Labour leader, he has often appeared to go out of his way to rile that wing of the party.From suspending Jeremy Corbyn to keeping the two-child cap or cutting disability benefits, Starmer has never worried about inflaming his left-wing MPs.And once again this afternoon, the PM went to war with his own backbenchers by removing the whip from four of them and disciplining a further three.Their crime, according to Downing Street aides, was agitating against the government on a number of occasions, most recently by organising a rebellion against the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payments Bill.Some 47 Labour MPs voted against the government on that occasion, humiliating the PM, who had performed a series of U-turns in an attempt to win their support.In true Mafia style, Starmer waited a week before taking his revenge.Government chief whip Alan Campbell, the PM’s Luca Brasi, was given the green light to personally tell Rachael Maskell, Brian Leishman, Chris Hinchcliff and Neil Duncan-Jordan that they were being suspended from the Parliamentary Labour Party. Rosena Allin-Khan, Bell Rebeiro-Addy and Mohammed Yasin, meanwhile, were relieved of their trade envoy roles.The move had echoes of July last year, when seven Labour MPs lost the whip for voting to scrap the two-child cap.A Labour source said: “We couldn’t do it during the welfare stuff, we had to wait for the dust to settle on that. “But if you are actively organising against the government then there has to be consequences.”The reaction from the suspended MPs”supporters was predictably furious.Richard Burgon said they had been “simply standing up for their disabled constituents and following their consciences”.Another welfare rebel told HuffPost UK: “There is a lot of anger and confusion among Labour MPs, who can’t understand why they have been targeted. It’s a bit like kicking puppies.”But a No10 insider insisted: “I think this will be widely welcomed among Labour MPs - there were many more who voted with the government on the welfare bill than rebelled.”Another Starmer ally gleefully said: “All I’ve had is MPs saying they are delighted.”But Starmer’s move also carries significant risks, with a Commons vote on deeply unpopular cuts to special educational needs services due in the autumn.Will those who have been cast aside by the PM have any wish to get back into his good books by voting with the government then?It seems highly unlikely.With Labour trailing Reform UK in the polls and Starmer’s own personal ratings through the floor, the PM needs as many allies as he can get.This afternoon he teed up another test of his strength - if he loses, the consequences for him and his government could be disastrous.Related...Keir Starmer Suspends 4 Labour MPs In Crackdown On Party DisciplineKeir Starmer Is Right To Point The Finger Of Blame At The Tories For Afghan Data Leak ScandalRevolt On The Left? Starmer's Strategy In Question As Support Grows For Lib Dems And Greens

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