Labour suspends seven rebellious MPs over cap on two-child benefit

The loss of the group chairmanship means that the MEPs are excluded from their group and now sit in Parliament as independent MEPs.

Almost all of the rebels were allies of former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who now sits in Parliament as an independent and signed the SNP motion.

In a statement on social media, Ms Sultana said she would “always stand up for the most vulnerable in our society”, adding that removing the cap would “lift 33,000 children out of poverty”.

Mr Burgon said he was “disappointed” at the decision to suspend him, saying “many vulnerable families” in his Leeds East constituency had joined him in raising the pay cap.

Ms Begum said she voted against the cap because it had “contributed to a rise and deepening of child poverty and food insecurity for many families in the East End”.

Meanwhile, Mr Byrne said the “best way” to help his constituents living in poverty in Liverpool’s West Derby was to abolish the cap.

Before the vote, McDonnell said: “I don’t like voting for other parties’ amendments, but I follow the example of Keir Starmer, who said the country must come before the party.”

The decision to abolish party discipline is a first demonstration of power by the new government.

This is their first rebellion. Even if it is small-scale, Labour whips are trying to send a message to MPs that dissenting opinions will not be tolerated in voting.

However, significantly more Labour MPs are against the cap on the two-child benefit ratio.

Many hope that the party will make a decision to abolish it in the coming months.

Government sources said that Labour’s policy on the two-child benefit cap had been agreed before the election – and that the Labour Party’s manifesto commitments had been clear.

The government has stated that it is not prepared to make “unfounded promises” by abolishing the cap.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer had previously said there was “no silver bullet” to end child poverty, but acknowledged the “passion” of Labour MPs on the issue.

The uprising is another reason why Labour politicians are putting pressure on the government to lift the cap.

Scottish Labour Party leader Anas Sarwar and Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham also supported the call for change.

“The evidence clearly shows that it does indeed cause harm,” Burnham told BBC Newsnight on Tuesday.

However, he also called for party unity and said the government must be given “time and space” to develop a plan to combat poverty.

The government has inherited a “terrible economic legacy,” he added.

Kim Johnson and Rosie Duffield were among 19 Labour MPs who signed another amendment calling for the cap to be scrapped – which ultimately did not come to a vote.

Several prominent critics of the cap, including Ian Lavery and Nadia Whittome, both of whom signed the rebel amendments, abstained from the vote.

Labour veteran and mother of the House of Commons Dianne Abbott did not take part in the vote for “personal reasons”, but said in a statement that she was “appalled” that MPs had been suspended “when lifting the cap should really be party policy”.

Emma Lewell-Buck, Labour MP for South Shields, who signed a rebel amendment, said she did not vote against the government because “none of the votes tonight would have resulted in the abolition of the cap”.

In a social media post, she said: “There will be an autumn budget soon and I know that I and other colleagues will work constructively with the government to make the abolition of the cap part of that.”

Despite the uprising, Sir Keir easily mastered the first major test for his government: the adoption of the King’s Speech.

Separately, Labour failed by 384 votes to 117 in an attempt by the Conservatives to add an amendment to the King’s Speech that would have supported Tory policies on defence spending, illegal migration and the fight against inflation.

An amendment tabled by the Liberal Democrats to require the government to focus on the crises in health and social care, sanitation and electoral reform was defeated by 382 votes to 85, despite support from Reform UK, the Green Party and parties from Wales and Northern Ireland.

The opposition parties usually try to amend the King’s speech to include their priorities for the next legislative period, but they almost never succeed.

Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall said the government could not overcome the Conservatives’ “terrible legacy” overnight.

However, she said the Labour Party was “determined to make a big difference” when it came to tackling child suffering.

On Monday, Ms Johnson, who led Labour’s calls for the policy to be scrapped, said the government should set a “clear timetable” for doing so.

“The question is not whether we can afford important measures to reduce child poverty, such as raising the two-child limit, but whether we can afford not to do so,” she said.

“This punitive policy must be thrown on the dustbin of history where it belongs.”

Before the vote, Stephen Flynn, leader of the SNP in Westminster, said abolishing the cap was “the absolute minimum needed to tackle child poverty – and to deliver the change that the people of Scotland have been promised”.