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Keir Starmer has removed the Labour whip from four MPs for repeatedly breaching discipline and stripped three further Labour MPs of their trade envoy roles in an effort to assert his control over the party.
The Guardian understands that the four MPs who have lost the whip are Rachael Maskell, Neil Duncan-Jordan, Brian Leishman and Chris Hinchliff. They were informed on Wednesday afternoon and told their positions would be kept under review.
One Labour source told the Guardian the whip was being removed from “persistent rebels”.
All four MPs facing suspension have been openly critical of several government policies, including the welfare bill and cuts to the winter fuel allowance.
MPs who lose the whip are no longer considered part of the parliamentary party, though they retain party membership unless that too is revoked. The suspension is usually for a set period, and then reviewed.
Three other Labour MPs who have rebelled against the whip – Rosena Allin-Khan, Bell Ribeiro-Addy and Mohammad Yasin – had their trade envoy roles removed. Trade envoys are parliamentarians who help the government promote trade and investment with specific regions, and can be drawn from opposition as well as government.
One Labour MP on the left of the party said those suspended had been told they faced an inquiry lasting a few months and that the decision to suspend them had come from Downing Street.
The MP said the move was intended to create a “climate of fear” in the party and made the government look “brittle”. “What those MPs, what we all did, were to defend Labour values. The fact that the government was humiliated was all of their own making. There are elements around No 10 who now want to lash out vindictively rather than acknowledge the mistakes that were made. This is now frankly a punishment beating … They’ve learned nothing.”
Another Labour MP said: “The trade envoy sackings are particularly weird … There are Tory and Lib Dem trade envoys who vote against the government all the time and that’s OK, but a Labour one gets sacked for one rebellion? Make it make sense.”
Leishman said in a statement: “I am a proud Labour member, and I remain committed to the party. I wish to remain a Labour MP and deliver the positive change many voters are craving.
“I have voted against the government on issues because I want to effectively represent and be the voice for communities across Alloa and Grangemouth. I firmly believe that it is not my duty as an MP to make people poorer, especially those that have suffered because of austerity and its dire consequences.”
Leishman is a member of the leftwing Socialist Campaign Group. Duncan-Jordan and Hinchliff were both elected with very slim majorities in constituencies that have never before returned Labour MPs. Maskell was a shadow cabinet minister under Jeremy Corbyn and has emerged as a ringleader of several rebellions under this government.
Duncan-Jordan said: “Since being elected I have consistently spoken up for my constituents on a range of issues, including most recently on cuts to disability benefits. I understood this could come at a cost, but I couldn’t support making disabled people poorer.
“Although I’ve been suspended from the parliamentary Labour party today, I’ve been part of the Labour and trade union movement for 40 years and remain as committed as ever to its values. To my constituents: it’s business as usual.”
This is the second time Starmer has enforced severe discipline on MPs who vote against his government, after removing the whip from seven MPs who voted with the Scottish National party to remove the two-child benefit cap in the king’s speech last summer.
Those suspended from the whip last July included John McDonnell, Richard Burgon, Ian Byrne, Rebecca Long-Bailey, Imran Hussain, Apsana Begum and Zarah Sultana.
The whip has since been restored to most of those MPs, though several on the left have continued to vote against the government on a number of issues including welfare, the proscription of Palestine Action and on changes to planning.
Sultana, who has remained suspended, announced she was quitting Labour to found a new party with Corbyn.
