British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has suspended several Labour MPs, including Brian Leishman, Neil Duncan-Jordan, Rachael Maskell, and Chris Hinchliff, after they voted against welfare reform proposals on July 1, 2025.
The reforms, which aimed to cut disability and sickness benefits, were abandoned due to opposition from dozens of Labour MPs, forcing Starmer to backtrack to avoid a parliamentary defeat. The suspensions are seen as an attempt to enforce party discipline amid Starmer’s challenging first year, marked by declining popularity and policy reversals, including scrapping a pensioners’ heating benefit cut and launching a child sex exploitation inquiry.
Despite Labour’s large parliamentary majority, internal dissent highlights tensions between Starmer’s leadership and the party’s centre-left principles. Critics, including suspended MPs, urge Starmer to engage with backbenchers to strengthen his leadership.
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