Jonathan Reynolds seems to have been in a good mood this week when he met with the four MPs who lost the Labour whip earlier this year. As the Hitch reported earlier, the chief whip scheduled meetings with each of the suspended MPs following conference recess.
Rachael Maskell, Chris Hinchliff, Brian Leishman and Neil Duncan Jordan all lost the whip after the welfare rebellion in which they – alongside 43 of their colleagues – broke ranks to go out against the welfare bill. The exact reason why these four were rebuked remains unclear, however.
Though none of the four have been readmitted yet, one source close to a rebel said the chief whip clearly wants all of them back in the party. There has been no commitment to a timeframe, however.
Another of the suspended MPs echoed that their meeting had been positive. It was a “very positive and honest conversation” they told the Hitch.
After the readmission of Apsana Begum and John McDonnell ahead of the Labour Party Conference this year, the government seems to be mellowing on dissenters. How long will that last?
[Further reading: How the China spy scandal engulfed the government]
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