The Labour Party has sent a stark warning to the party’s 12 winter fuel payment rebels.
PMQs: Rishi Sunak attacks Keir Starmer over winter fuel cuts
Sir Keir Starmer has been condemned by a Labour MP after it emerged his whips have warned last week’s winter fuel payment rebels that their careers will be held back as a result of their actions.
A Labour MP has accused Sir Keir of behaving in a “feudal” manner, after the Labour Party whips set out that anyone who failed to back Rachel Reeves’ plans last week will now be punished.
Despite mass outrage within the party towards the planned welfare cuts this Christmas, Labour managed to stave off a humiliating rebellion.
Just one MP, John Trickett, voted against the changes, while around 50 abstained.
Following the vote, a Labour source insisted that of these 50 just 12 had not been ‘slipped’ (given permission to miss the vote), and would therefore have action taken against them.
READ MORE: All the Labour MPs who didn’t vote to cut Winter Fuel Payment – full list
Sir Keir has responded to last week’s Winter Fuel rebellion (Image: Getty)
In a letter to the rebels, Government whips have now dealt warnings that the MPs’ future behaviour is being ‘monitored’, and said they will be denied privileges.
This includes losing any potential help to secure places on House of Commons select committees.
It has also emerged that whips warned Labour MPs they were not allowed to discuss the Winter Fuel vote nor its aftermath with journalists.
One of the rebel MPs has now blasted his party’s response to the row, telling the Guardian that the government has misjudged the depth of anger around the policy.
They slammed: “Quite frankly, the letter is feudal and completely misplaced when people are abstaining to protect very vulnerable people.”
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Chief Whip Alan Campbell has warned rebels they will lose privileges (Image: Getty)
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While the MPs have been warned their careers may now be put on ice as a result of their rebellion, the response is notably less harsh than that following the King’s Speech rebellion when seven MPs were kicked out of the party for voting to scrap the two-child benefit cap.
A Government spokesperson later said that the particularly brutal reprisal had been as a result of the MPs rebelling against a King’s speech, “which is a serious matter”.
At the time they denied the decision would set a precedent for future rebellions.
While Labour pushed the claim only 12 MPs had failed to vote, it’s believed the number of rebels was in fact much higher.
However whips allowed them to miss the vote and go AWOL, in order to reduce the size of the perceived rebellion.
