Brian Leishman, Chris Hinchliff and Neil Duncan-Jordan – all elected just last year – and Rachael Maskell, had been suspended in July for repeated breaches of party discipline
Four MPs suspended by Labour have returned to the fold after discussions with the Chief Whip.
Brian Leishman, Chris Hinchliff and Neil Duncan-Jordan – all elected just last year – and Rachael Maskell, had been suspended in July for repeated breaches of party discipline.
Now it is understood all four have had the Labour whip restored following a review of their recent conduct. They were among dozens of Labour backbenchers to vote against the government in July over disability benefit cuts – plans which were since abandoned after a massive revolt.
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Speaking at the time, Ms Maskell, the York Central MP, said she had been suspended from the party for “standing up for my constituents” over welfare reform. “The reason why I voted the way I did was because I believe in fighting for people,” she added.
She said she had had a “positive conversation” with the Chief Whip, adding: “He knows my heart and why I did what I did. I explained there are lines I can’t cross because of where I come from in politics with my faith.”
She said she was “not angry” but “upset that we are in this place because I believe we are better than that as a party. I believe that strength comes from the backbenches.
Ms Maskell had urged the Prime Minister to engage with his backbenchers, saying she wanted to see “bridges built” and this would “make him a better Prime Minister.” She said she believed there was a path back to having the Labour whip restored. But she said she did not “believe in the process of suspension”, adding it was “better to have dialogue”.
Mr Leishman had previously claimed he was “devastated” to lose the whip. He told BBC Scotland : “I am a proud Labour Party member.
“I don’t want to lose the whip and, to be honest, I don’t think what I have said and what I have done in my first 12 months as an MP (mean) I deserve to.”
The MP said he had “no forewarning” of the decision and added he had been elected to be a “voice for my constituents across Alloa and Grangemouth”.
In a earlier statement, Leishman said he wished to remain a Labour MP. He added: “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.”