Latest news with #Rachael Maskell
The Independent
a day ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Keir Starmer says he will not be ‘deflected' from plans by repeat rebel MPs
Sir Keir Starmer said he would not be 'deflected' by Labour rebels after he stripped the whip from several MPs. The Prime Minister suspended the whip from Rachael Maskell, Neil Duncan-Jordan, Brian Leishman and Chris Hinchliff. The four MPs all voted against the Government over the welfare reform legislation, but party sources said the decision to suspend the whip was taken as a result of persistent breaches of discipline rather than a single rebellion. Sir Keir Starmer said he had to 'deal with people who repeatedly break the whip' and that everyone elected as a Labour MP needs to 'deliver as a Labour Government'. Asked at a press conference if his decision to punish MPs made him look weak, the Prime Minister said the party was elected to enact change and 'we've got to carry through that change, and we've got to carry through reforms'. He said: 'I'm determined that we will change this country for the better, for millions of working people, and I'm not going to be deflected from that. 'And therefore we had to deal with people who repeatedly break the whip because everyone was elected as a Labour MP on the manifesto of change and everybody needs to deliver as a Labour Government. 'This is about what we're doing for the country, and that's why I'm so determined to press forward with the reforms and the change that we need to bring about.' York Central MP Ms Maskell said earlier she thought Sir Keir's response was wrong, saying: 'On this occasion, I don't think he's got it right.' She told the BBC: 'I really hope from this process there will be reflection over the summer, but also learning. 'There needs to be a better reach-out to backbenchers to ensure that we are the safeguards of our Government.' Other MPs have been more supportive of the Prime Minister's decision, with one telling the PA news agency: 'Someone has to die in the square.' Arguing that politics was a 'team effort', they suggested the suspensions would make rebels 'think more about the politics'. Government minister Jess Phillips said the four should not be surprised by the action against them. The Home Office minister told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'There has to be an element of discipline otherwise you end up not being able to govern.' She added: 'I think that constantly taking to the airwaves and slagging off your own Government, I have to say, what did you think was going to happen?' On Sky News 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.' Referring to a description of the rebels by an unnamed source in The Times, she told Sky News: 'I didn't call it persistent knob-headery, but that's the way that it's been termed by some.'
Yahoo
a day ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Keir Starmer says he will not be ‘deflected' from plans by repeat rebel MPs
Sir Keir Starmer said he would not be 'deflected' by Labour rebels after he stripped the whip from several MPs. The Prime Minister suspended the whip from Rachael Maskell, Neil Duncan-Jordan, Brian Leishman and Chris Hinchliff. The four MPs all voted against the Government over the welfare reform legislation, but party sources said the decision to suspend the whip was taken as a result of persistent breaches of discipline rather than a single rebellion. Sir Keir Starmer said he had to 'deal with people who repeatedly break the whip' and that everyone elected as a Labour MP needs to 'deliver as a Labour Government'. Asked at a press conference if his decision to punish MPs made him look weak, the Prime Minister said the party was elected to enact change and 'we've got to carry through that change, and we've got to carry through reforms'. He said: 'I'm determined that we will change this country for the better, for millions of working people, and I'm not going to be deflected from that. 'And therefore we had to deal with people who repeatedly break the whip because everyone was elected as a Labour MP on the manifesto of change and everybody needs to deliver as a Labour Government. 'This is about what we're doing for the country, and that's why I'm so determined to press forward with the reforms and the change that we need to bring about.' York Central MP Ms Maskell said earlier she thought Sir Keir's response was wrong, saying: 'On this occasion, I don't think he's got it right.' She told the BBC: 'I really hope from this process there will be reflection over the summer, but also learning. 'There needs to be a better reach-out to backbenchers to ensure that we are the safeguards of our Government.' Other MPs have been more supportive of the Prime Minister's decision, with one telling the PA news agency: 'Someone has to die in the square.' Arguing that politics was a 'team effort', they suggested the suspensions would make rebels 'think more about the politics'. Government minister Jess Phillips said the four should not be surprised by the action against them. The Home Office minister told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'There has to be an element of discipline otherwise you end up not being able to govern.' She added: 'I think that constantly taking to the airwaves and slagging off your own Government, I have to say, what did you think was going to happen?' On Sky News 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.' Referring to a description of the rebels by an unnamed source in The Times, she told Sky News: 'I didn't call it persistent knob-headery, but that's the way that it's been termed by some.'
Telegraph
a day ago
- Politics
- Telegraph
Suspended Labour MP: It's insulting and contemptuous to call me a k---head
A suspended Labour MP has said it is 'insulting' to be accused of 'k---headery'. Rachael Maskell was one of four Labour MPs stripped of the party whip on Wednesday as Sir Keir Starmer punished rebels who voted against his flagship welfare reforms. A Government source told The Times some MPs would be suspended for 'persistent k---headery' and rebelling against Downing Street. But Ms Maskell told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme: 'I don't even know what that means but I think it is really insulting. 'I am here trying to do a professional job on behalf of people that desperately need a voice. 'And if that is the contempt by which I and my colleagues are treated, let alone my constituents, I find that really insulting and I hope that is withdrawn.' The disciplinary move by the Prime Minister means the four MPs will now sit in the House of Commons as independents, raising questions about their long-term futures. Jeremy Corbyn, the former Labour leader, is in the process of setting up a new Left-wing party which he says will provide a 'real alternative'. But Ms Maskell, who served on Mr Corbyn's front bench as shadow environment secretary in 2016-7, categorically ruled out joining the new party as she declared she was 'Labour through and through'. Asked whether she would consider the move, she replied: 'No, no, no. I am Labour through and through. I support the Labour Party. I have been a member for so long, walked the streets, knocked the doors all those years and of course I want to see a Labour Government really succeed. 'I really hope from this process, yes there will be reflection over the summer, but also learning. 'And there needs to be a better reach out to backbenchers to ensure that we are the safeguards of the Government, ensuring that the Government do well.' Ms Maskell was one of the most prominent critics of Sir Keir's original welfare reforms and tabled an amendment which would have killed the legislation. A Labour revolt over the welfare bill extended to 127 MPs at one point, forcing the Government to cave in on its planned cuts to disability benefits, wiping away all of the planned £4.6bn of savings. Ms Maskell rejected the suggestion that she had been a 'ringleader' of the rebellion. But he signalled she does not intend to change her behaviour in terms of speaking out against the Government. The York Central MP said it was 'not about my behaviour'. Told that Sir Keir's decision to withdraw the whip was precisely because of her behaviour and asked again if she intended to change her approach, she replied: 'I will continue to advocate for my constituents, of course.' The other three MPs who lost the whip were Neil Duncan-Jordan, Chris Hinchliff and Brian Leishman. A further three welfare rebels – Dr Rosena Allin-Khan, Bell Ribeiro-Addy and Mohammad Yasin – were also punished as they lost their trade envoy roles. The punishment was widely seen as an attempt by Sir Keir to reassert his authority after the welfare revolt struck a hammer blow to his premiership.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Labour minister Jess Phillips says rebel MPs right to be punished for ‘slagging off own government'
A government minister has told Labour MPs punished for voting against welfare reforms that they have only themselves to blame in the escalating rebels row. Keir Starmer suspended Rachael Maskell, Neil Duncan-Jordan, Brian Leishman and Chris Hinchliff on Wednesday after the four rebels voted against the government's flagship benefits bill earlier this month. Responding to controversy over the prime minister's decision, home office minister Jess Phillips said on Thursday: 'I disagree often with directions that are going on and I spend time working with colleagues on the back and front benches ensuring that we discuss these things. 'Constantly taking to the airwaves and slagging off your own government – I have to say: what did you think was going to happen?' There had to be a level of party discipline for the government to function, Ms Phillips, who is the minister for safeguarding and violence against women and girls, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. Government minister Jess Phillips has told Labour MPs punished for voting against welfare reforms that they have only themselves to blame in the escalating rebels row (House of Commons) The four MPs all voted against the government over the welfare reform legislation, but party sources said the decision to suspend the whip was taken as a result of persistent breaches of discipline rather than a single rebellion. Speaking to Sky News, Ms Phillips 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.' Referring to a description of the rebels by an unnamed source in The Times, she told Sky News: 'I didn't call it persistent knob-headery, but that's the way that it's been termed by some.' Ms Maskell, who spearheaded plans to halt the government's welfare reforms, hit out at Sir Keir's attempt to assert his authority over the party, saying he was wrong to carry out a purge of persistent rebels. Labour MP Rachael Maskell spearheaded plans to halt the government's welfare reforms (PA Archive) The York Central MP said: 'On this occasion, I don't think he's got it right.' Speaking to the BBC, she added: 'I really hope from this process there will be reflection over the summer, but also learning. There needs to be a better reach-out to backbenchers to ensure that we are the safeguards of our government.' Meanwhile, Sir Keir faced a fresh challenge to his authority when senior left-winger Diane Abbott said she had no regrets about comments on racism that led to her being suspended from Labour for a year. Diane Abbott has said she has no regrets about comments on racism that led to her being suspended from Labour for a year (PA Archive) The Hackney North and Stoke Newington MP was disciplined for saying in 2023 that people of colour experienced racism 'all their lives' and in a different way to Jewish people, Irish people and Travellers. Despite withdrawing the remarks at the time, she was suspended from the Labour party after Sir Keir said her comments were antisemitic. In a new intervention, Ms Abbott, who was subsequently readmitted to Labour, said she does not regret her remarks and stands by her argument. She told the BBC: 'Clearly, there must be a difference between racism which is about colour and other types of racism because you can see a Traveller or a Jewish person walking down the street, you don't know.'
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Labour rebels warn Starmer has made things worse by suspending whip from four 'kn**head' MPs and stripping three others of jobs after welfare meltdown
Labour rebels sounded defiance today after Keir Starmer attempted to restore his authority over the party. The PM moved to suspend the whip from four MPs, and fired three more from trade envoy roles, in the wake of the humiliating welfare revolt. Rachael Maskell, Brian Leishman, Chris Hinchliff and Neil Duncan-Jordan will now sit as independents after being punished for behaviour that was branded 'persistent kn**headery'. Home Office minister Jess Phillips said that Sir Keir could not 'govern' without enforcing 'discipline', jibing at those who went against the leadership: 'What did you think was going to happen?' However, others who participated in the rebellion warned that Sir Keir - who last week suggested he is a 'hard b***ard' - has made things worse by attempting 'command and control'. The action came yesterday as Westminster prepares to head into its summer break next week. Home Office minister Jess Phillips said that Sir Keir could not 'govern' without enforcing 'discipline', jibing at those who went against the leadership: 'What did you think was going to happen?' Ms Maskell, the York Central MP, was a leading figure in the insurrection last month that forced the PM and Chancellor Rachel Reeves to all-but abandon plans to trim the UK's spending on disability hand-outs. The others have all clashed with the government over welfare and other issues including Net Zero and relaxing planning rules. Former shadow minister Rosena Allin Khan, Bell Ribeiro-Addy and Mohammed Yasin have been stripped of their roles as trade envoys. All seven voted against the Universal Credit Bill, even after ministers removed every contentious change to personal injury payments (PIP) that it contained. Asked on BBC Radio 4's Today programme if Labour MPs needed to show more loyalty, Ms Maskell said: 'I think the learning from this is that there's got to be more listening and that's got to be reciprocated'. 'I don't see myself as a ringleader,' she said. 'I joined with other colleagues who had similar concerns about this legislation. 'You know, we ultimately do believe that cutting money from some of the poorest in our society is not what the Labor Government should be doing. 'We should be ensuring those people are taken out of poverty, have the support that they need.' Former frontbencher Barry Gardiner told BBC Newsnight: 'I'm sorry that today it would appear that a hard line has been adopted. 'I don't think it helps the party, I don't think it helps No10. 'We want to be a united party taking what is an incredibly progressive agenda forward. 'But there needs to be that better way of listening to each other, engaging with each other and not thinking that if somebody disagrees with us they have to be disciplined. 'A political party is not something you can command and control.' Clive Lewis, Richard Burgon and Jon Trickett were among other Labour MPs voicing solidarity with colleagues who had been punished. But Ms Phillips told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'There has to be an element of discipline otherwise you end up not being able to govern.' She added: 'I am a plain speaker and I will tell you that I disagree often with directions that are going on, and I spend time working with colleagues, both on the back and front benches, ensuring that we discuss those things. Some Labour MPs have voiced solidarity with their suspended colleagues 'I think that constantly taking to the airwaves and slagging off your own Government, I have to say, what did you think was going to happen?' Ms Phillips said she spoke out 'against things I do not like, both internally and sometimes externally, all the time'. 'There is a manner of doing that that is the right way to go about it. And sometimes you feel forced to rebel and vote against,' she said. Referring to a description of the rebels by an unnamed source in The Times, she said: 'I didn't call it persistent knobheadery, but that's the way that it's been termed by some.' She said she would have described it as 'something much more sweary' because 'we are a team, and we have to act as a team in order to achieve something'.
