Keir Starmer has suspended seven of his own Labour Party MPs for rebelling over the two-child benefit cap. John McDonnell, Richard Burgon, Ian Byrne, Rebecca Long-Bailey, Imran Hussain, Apsana Begum, and Zarah Sultana were punished after they backed a motion demanding the removal of the two-child limit on benefits introduced by the previous Conservative government.
The benefit cap restricts payments to the first two children born to most families. Why a Labour government would oppose feeding hungry children seems baffling. Until, that is, you consider that this is Starmer’s right-wing Labour government.
Starmer’s first test
MPs voted 363 to 103 to reject a Scottish National Party (SNP) amendment to scrap the cap, giving the government a majority of 260.
However, in addition to the seven who voted with the amendment, more than 40 Labour lawmakers recorded no vote. That shows the level of unease within the party at the measure.
Liverpool MP Kim Johnson said she had voted with the government “for unity” but warned that the strength of feeling within the party was “undeniable”.
The SNP’s Westminster leader Stephen Flynn said Labour had “failed its first major test in government” by choosing not to “deliver meaningful change from years of Tory misrule”. He continued:
This is now the Labour government’s two-child cap — and it must take ownership of the damage it is causing, including the appalling levels of poverty in the UK.
Sir Kid Starver
The popular nickname for Starmer, Sir Kid Starver, is once again making the rounds on social media:
Right for Labour to continue punishing *children* for having parents whose circumstances led them into relying on benefits usually through no fault of their own. Shame on you, shame on Dear Leader Starmer for punishing MPs who put country before party #SirKidStarver https://t.co/IANaeHc09a pic.twitter.com/246nL0Lr9b
— Mrs Gee 💚🇵🇸 #WeAreCollective (@earthygirl011) July 24, 2024
It hasn’t taken long for Starmer to settle in:
It’s taken #SirKidStarver‘s @UKLabour less than 3 weeks to shit on the working class.
Let that sink in.
— Kev (@KevStringer1) July 23, 2024
At least the new prime minister’s domestic and foreign policies are aligned:
#SirKidStarver is a c*nt.
Pass it on. pic.twitter.com/OxX3JyrD7O— Citizen M (@MiaSertima) July 23, 2024
The BBC’s political editor Chris Mason summarised Starmer’s actions:
A prime minister with a narrower majority, a less emphatic win, would perhaps not have dared act so boldly. But with a colossal majority, he has the scope to act ruthlessly, and put down a marker for the months ahead.
Embedding poverty
But, what’s the actual impact of keeping the policy in place?
Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse
Featured image via YouTube screenshot/Evening Standard
