Jess Phillips was pressed on a comment made after four MPs – Neil Duncan-Jordan, Chris Hinchliff, Brian Leishman and Rachael Maskell – had the Labour whip withdrawn
A Labour minister has responded to a claim that four MPs were suspended for “persistent knob-headery”.
Jess Phillips defended the decision to suspend the whip from the left-wingers – Neil Duncan-Jordan, Chris Hinchliff, Brian Leishman and Rachael Maskell. Party insiders said they were suspended for breaches of party discipline, and that there would be a further review.
Referencing the sweary assessment that one source made to The Times. Sky News host Matt Barbet told safeguarding minister Ms Phillips: “Don’t take this the wrong way, but that sounds like something you would say.”
She quipped: “I’d probably, not on these particular people, but I think I’d probably be stronger.” In a separate interview she said: “I didn’t call it persistent knob-headery, 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”
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In a separate interview with BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, she said: “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.
“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?”
She said the four MPs should not be surprised by the action. “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,” she stated.
“Now I speak 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.”
Ms Maskell, who earlier this month put forward a motion that would effectively torpedo the Government’s watered-down welfare Bill, said Keir Starmer was wrong to suspend the whip. The York Central MP told the BBC: “There’s got to be dialogue, and that’s how we build bridges. We move forward together, and that’s how we’ve got to move forward as a party, but ensure that our finger is on the pulse of the country.
“And I think MPs who went through those lobbies were incredibly stressed, not wanting to vote against the Government, and for some people that didn’t vote at all, it was a very stressed vote.”
Mr Duncan-Jordan has said he remains “as committed as ever” to Labour values, but accepted that voting against the welfare plans “could come at a cost”. In a statement, the MP for Poole 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.”
Mr Leishman said he is a “proud Labour member” and remains “committed to the party”. Mr Hinchliff said: “I remain proud to have been elected as a Labour MP and I hope in time to return to the Labour benches.
“In the meantime I will continue to fight every day for the needs of my constituents and nothing will change in how I engage with and represent those I was elected to serve.”
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