Two-thirds of Labour members oppose rebel MP suspensions, poll reveals

More than two-thirds of Labour members think Keir Starmer was wrong to suspend four MPs for rebelling against proposed welfare cuts, an exclusive poll for LabourList reveals.

Brian Leishman, Chris Hinchliff, Neil Duncan-Jordan and Rachael Maskell were suspended from the Labour Party over “repeated breaches of party discipline” in July, following a significant rebellion over welfare reform.

In a poll conducted by Survation, some 68% of members were opposed to the suspension, with 28% supportive of the leadership’s decision.

Among members who voted for Rebecca Long-Bailey in the 2020 leadership election, almost all (98%) opposed the leadership’s decision, compared to 67% among those who backed Lisa Nandy and 54% for those who supported Keir Starmer.

A majority of Labour members are also opposed to the leadership’s suspension of Diane Abbott from the party over comments she made about racism in 2023.

More than half (55%) said the Mother of the House should not have been suspended for a second time over her comments, while 37% agreed with the decision to remove the whip.

Support for the leadership’s position was strongest among younger members, with over 50% of 25-34-year-olds backing the move, while those aged 65 and over were the most strongly opposed at almost two to one (62%).

Subscribe here to our daily newsletter roundup of Labour news, analysis and comment– and follow us on Bluesky, WhatsApp, X and Facebook.

Survation surveyed 1,021 readers of LabourList, the leading dedicated newsletter and news and comment website for Labour supporters, who also said they were Labour Party members between August 5 and August 9.

Data was weighted to the profile of party members by age, sex, region and 2020 Labour leadership vote, targets for which were derived from the British Election Study and the results of the 2020 leadership election.

• SHARE: If you have anything to share that we should be looking into or publishing about this story – or any other topic involving Labour– contact us (strictly anonymously if you wish) at [email protected].
• SUBSCRIBE: Sign up to LabourList’s morning email here for the best briefing on everything Labour, every weekday morning.
• DONATE: If you value our work, please chip in a few pounds a week and become one of our supporters, helping sustain and expand our coverage.
• PARTNER: If you or your organisation might be interested in partnering with us on sponsored events or projects, email [email protected].
• ADVERTISE: If your organisation would like to advertise or run sponsored pieces on LabourList‘s daily newsletter or website, contact our exclusive ad partners Total Politics at [email protected].