Whip restored to rebel Labour MPs after six months - but three remain suspended

Four Labour MPs who were suspended for rebelling over the two-child benefit cap have had the whip restored, Sky News understands.

Richard Burgon, Ian Byrne, Imran Hussain and Rebecca Long-Bailey are now back in the parliamentary Labour Party after sitting as independents in the Commons for six months.

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However, three others who had rebelled remain suspended with their position to be reviewed again in the future.

They include former shadow chancellor John McDonnell, Apsana Begum and Zarah Sultana.

It is not clear why these three remain suspended from the parliamentary party.

Writing on X, Ms Sultana said she had only found out about this from a media report and suggested the reason was because she has been outspoken about the government's position on the war in Gaza.

"Turns out speaking up for Palestine is still a punishable offence," she said.

Meanwhile Mr McDonnell, who served as the shadow chancellor under Jeremy Corbyn's leadership, said he did not expect the whip back until he knows if police will charge him following a recent pro-Palestinian protest after which he was interviewed under caution.

As previously reported by Sky News, he and Mr Corbyn attended voluntary interviews over the rally last month, during which police claimed there had been a deliberate effort by protesters to breach conditions imposed on the event.

The protest organisers and the two veteran MPs had denied this at the time, saying the delegation had peacefully walked to lay flowers for children killed in Gaza, with the assistance of police.

Mr McDonnell posted on X: "Pleased my colleagues got whip back but disappointed Zarah & Apsana haven't yet.

"Relaxed about my own position as I've made clear I don't expect whip back until we know whether police are to charge me following recent Palestinian demo after which I was interviewed under caution."

The seven MPs lost the whip in July 2024 after they backed an SNP amendment to the King's Speech to scrap the two-child benefit limit.

The cap prevents parents from claiming Universal Credit or a child tax credit for a third child, with a few exceptions.

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It was introduced by former Tory chancellor George Osborne in 2017 and has since been blamed for rising levels of child poverty in the UK.

Several Labour MPs had called on the new government to scrap the measure after the party won the general election last July.

But reports that dozens of them could rebel did not materialise after threats of suspension emerged, with only seven of them ultimately siding with the SNP.

At the time of their suspension, Labour said the decision would be reviewed in six months.

(c) Sky News 2025: Whip restored to rebel Labour MPs after six months - but three remain suspended