Overview

• Four Labour MPs, including Richard Burgon and Rebecca Long-Bailey, have had their party whip reinstated after being suspended for rebelling against the two-child benefit cap.
• Three MPs—John McDonnell, Apsana Begum, and Zarah Sultana—remain suspended, with their status to be reviewed in the future.
• The MPs were originally suspended in July 2024 after supporting an SNP amendment to the King's Speech that sought to abolish the two-child benefit limit.
• The two-child benefit cap, introduced by Conservatives in 2017, has been widely criticized for exacerbating child poverty, affecting an estimated 1.6 million children.
• Some of the suspended MPs have linked their ongoing exclusion to their criticism of Labour policies, including arms exports to Israel and their positions on the war in Gaza.