UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is set to face intense questioning in the House of Commons on Wednesday after suspending seven Labour MPs for their dissent over a controversial welfare policy.
Late Tuesday, Starmer suspended the Labour rebels who supported a motion to eliminate the two-child limit on benefits, a policy introduced by the previous Conservative government in 2015. The cap restricts benefits to the first two children born to most families.
This move serves as an early test of Starmer’s authority as the newly elected Prime Minister, coming just weeks after his party won a landslide victory in the July 4 general election, ending Labour’s 14 years in opposition. The Labour leader has emphasized that there is “no silver bullet” to ending child poverty but acknowledged the strong feelings of MPs opposing the policy.
The suspension, which included former finance spokesman John McDonnell among the group of left-wingers, is seen as a demonstration of Starmer’s determination to enforce party discipline. Since becoming party leader, Starmer has worked to shift Labour back to the political center from the hard-left stance of former leader Jeremy Corbyn, under whom the party saw its worst election result in nearly a century in 2019.
Starmer’s first Prime Minister’s Questions session at 1100 GMT will likely feature discussions on the politically sensitive two-child cap. On Tuesday, MPs voted 363 to 103 to reject a Scottish National Party amendment to scrap the cap, giving the government a majority of 260. However, the dissent within Labour was evident as more than 40 Labour lawmakers recorded no vote, highlighting internal discontent with the policy.
Liverpool MP Kim Johnson, who voted with the government “for unity,” acknowledged the strong opposition within the party, stating, “We moved the dial, the campaign will continue.”
Stephen Flynn, the SNP’s Westminster leader, criticized Labour for failing its first major test in government, accusing the party of not delivering meaningful change from years of Conservative misrule. “This is now the Labour government’s two-child cap — and it must take ownership of the damage it is causing, including the appalling levels of poverty in the UK,” Flynn said.
As Starmer navigates this early challenge, his leadership and approach to party unity will be closely scrutinized by both allies and opponents in the coming weeks.
