Labour’s four ‘rebels’ aren’t persistent – they are principled

‘Chris Hinchliff is a good constituency MP who certainly represented my views.’ Photograph: House of Commons

As a former Labour MP who treated the whips with the contempt they deserved in October 2001 (the chief whip told me that war is not a matter of conscience), I feel qualified to judge Keir Starmer’s clumsy submission for the Stalinist of the Year award (Keir Starmer removed Labour whip from four ‘persistent rebel’ MPs, 16 July).

Starmer fails to topple the megalomaniac Donald Trump for the honour, since the prime minister considers an MP’s three votes against the government over 12 months, out of 271 divisions, as being “persistent”. The rebels aren’t persistent – they are principled.
Paul WB Marsden
Oakenholt, Flintshire