‘Suspending dissenting voices is a sign of weakness, not a show of strength’

At no point in its history has the Labour Party been a monolith. It has always tolerated, though sometimes begrudgingly, a diversity of opinion. Attlee’s Cabinet had space for both Ernest Bevin and Aneurin Bevan, Wilson’s both Tony Benn and George Brown.

There is a benefit to bringing different voices into the fold. There will be political options not considered or advocated for, that could lead to better outcomes than the majority picked path. Keeping them onside also ensures those voices do not become more hostile and more potent when left out in the cold.

The recent suspension of Rachael Maskell, Neil Duncan-Jordan, Brian Leishman, and Chris Hinchliff, plus stripping envoy responsibilities from Rosena Allin-Khan, Bell Ribeiro-Addy, and Mohammad Yasin, was a shameful move. Suspending Diane Abbott for a second time simply looks vindictive. If the intention was to show decisive leadership after the government’s mishandling of its welfare bill, it has only served to make the government look more in chaos.

Party sources have said that they removed the whip from the MPs for being “persistent rebels”. What does it say about a government that – despite its huge parliamentary majority – feels a need to turn to punitive measures to try to get flagship policies through?

Strong leadership looks to unite and find consensus through political difficulty, not look to divide and punish at the first sign of discontent. But the reason the government struggled to get its welfare reform through was not because of “persistent rebels”, but because the legislation was inherently flawed.

The entire premise of the bill – to make welfare cuts to ensure compliance with our fiscal rules – is harmful and deeply flawed. Even though it eventually passed, the government’s compromise position remained rushed and unjust, suggesting a government still more focused on getting a Bill through the Commons than it was its impact across the country as a whole.

READ MORE: Labour campaign groups join forces to call for reinstatement of MPs

We cannot forget that this latest wave of suspensions comes almost a year to the day that seven Labour MPs were suspended when voting to abolish the two-child cap. We have now seen one of those, Zarah Sultana – once one of our most mediagenic MPs – resign from the party. Still suspended when she resigned, Sultana identified the two-child cap and cuts to winter fuel payments as reasons she is looking to form a new party. Her departure, and that of hundreds of local councillors, was entirely preventable. So too was the rebellion over welfare cuts.

No Labour politician stood for election seeking to make people’s lives worse. Being instructed to vote for policies that will achieve that will inevitably lead to a revolt. An increasingly disciplinarian approach will not stop that; Rachael Maskell, one of the four suspended MPs, has already said that she will continue to speak up for those who are ‘invisible in our society.’

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In recent weeks, the Prime Minister signalled a “progressive reset” of the government. He announced that he ‘deeply regrets’ having used the phrase ‘island of strangers’ about migration, due to its echoes of Enoch Powell’s “rivers of blood” speech. This apologetic tone was a positive symbol. Too often this government has been defensive when mistakes have been made, and that bullishness has unnecessarily deepened divisions. Apologies are difficult for any politician to give, but it is a strength not a weakness to level with your electorate and look to remedy mistakes.

After poor local election results, and our party continuing to plummet in polls, the Prime Minister is at a crossroads. Rather than follow an increasingly disciplinary route, Starmer must give his government by a moral mission.

Voters want their leaders to lead, and their governments to have a mission, direction and conscience. The Prime Minister’s favourite former Prime Minister, Harold Wilson, once said that the Labour Party is ‘a moral crusade or it is nothing’. We need that same moral clarity now, and should look to ensure that nothing comes before saving and improving peoples’ lives – at home and abroad.

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