A SUSPENDED Labour MP has raised serious concerns about the party’s duty of care – saying she did not hear a word from leadership even after parliamentary authorities highlighted that she was the victim of more online abuse than any other MP, or when she had a live security situation during the General Election.
Zarah Sultana, who had the Labour whip removed earlier in the week after backing an SNP amendment calling for the two-child benefit cap to be scrapped, said she was only told of her suspension over email – and had had no prior contact from the whips’ office “at all”.
The Coventry South MP raised concerns that as “a left-wing woman of colour, you can expect absolutely nothing” in the way of support from the Labour Party leadership.
She told the Sunday National: “In terms of the leadership of my party, Keir Starmer hasn't spoken to me in two-and-a-half years.
“The last time he spoke to me was because other colleagues had highlighted the threats and the abuse that I was getting because of bad briefings and negative briefings that were coming out of what was then LOTO [the Leader of the Opposition’s office].
“Added to that, during the General Election campaign, I had an ongoing situation with the police under Operation Bridger, which is related to MP security. I notified the party's leadership that I was dealing with a security situation, and no-one checked in, no-one followed up.”
Sultana went on: “Last parliament, I was notified by Parliament's authorities, who monitor social media, that I had received the most online abuse of any MP.”
She said parliament’s security systems had flagged up countless examples of “literally racist language, xenophobia, and things that just are incredibly, incredibly vile”.
“That did not trigger anything within the party structures about how they can support and how they can help. It's literally not there. There's no help or support whatsoever.”
Sultana raised the case of Apsana Begum, a survivor of alleged domestic abuse who was also suspended from Labour after voting to scrap the two-child benefit cap.
In the wake of the suspension, Begum told LBC that Labour whips had “weaponised” her past experiences around domestic abuse in an effort to convince her not to rebel.
'This whipping operation seemed disproportionate.' Suspended Labour MP @ApsanaBegumMP, tells @AndrewMarr9 she was 'bullied' prior to the two-child benefit vote, with whips 'weaponising' her past experience of domestic abuse as part of an 'aggressive' whipping operation. pic.twitter.com/8Xzrj4V7Kn
— LBC (@LBC) July 24, 2024
Sultana said Begum’s case was “really shocking”.
“When we talk about issues that we need to fix in society – around misogyny, around sexism, gender-based violence, domestic violence, all the other social ills that we really need to address – we also need to look at getting our own house in order,” Sultana said.
“My experience and Apsana’s experience will tell you that the party, when it comes to anti-black racism, when it comes to Islamophobia, and when it comes to duty of care, is severely lacking.”
“Especially when it's from the left and it's women of colour. Literally, it's kind of, ‘Yeah, whatever’,” she added.
Sultana and Begum were among seven Labour MPs (alongside John McDonnell, Richard Burgon, Ian Byrne, Rebecca Long-Bailey, and Imran Hussain) to lose the party whip for six months after backing an SNP amendment calling for “immediate measures to abolish the two-child limit”.
The decision to suspend the seven was seen as an overreaction by commentators, with arguments that it set a precedent which meant Starmer may be forced to suspend a much larger group of MPs at a future rebellion.
The Guardian published an editorial arguing: “If the events of Tuesday night were the Labour leadership’s attempt to set a precedent to avoid dissent, it would be profoundly wrong and undemocratic.”
Begum said the “whipping operation seemed disproportionate”, while Sultana told this paper she felt Labour had “definitely over-steered”.
“I think it's to make an example to say that under this leadership and in government, a difference in opinion is not welcome, which is quite unhealthy,” she went on.
Sultana said she had “literally” no contact with the whips’ office about the vote on the two-child cap “at all” – and was therefore not warned that backing the SNP amendment would mean a suspension. She was only told she had lost the whip over email.
Sultana argued that scrapping the two-child cap is in line with the 2024 Labour General Election manifesto, and opposition to the policy is a widely held position within Labour.
“The interesting thing doing the media round was not a single government minister [was out] defending their line, which I thought spoke volumes personally,” Sultana said.
“I think it's because it's hard to defend the position because there is consensus in the party to scrap the two-child benefit cap.”
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper was pulled from an appearance on Sky News at the last minute on Wednesday morning, in a move the channel’s hosts called out as “disrespectful” live on air.
Labour have argued that their child poverty task force will look at all the options to cut rates which have risen and risen under 14 years of Conservative governance.
However, Sultana said: “I think when every partner in your task force is calling for the two-child benefit cap to be scrapped, that speaks volumes.
“The evidence is already there. Think tanks, academics, anti-poverty charities, trade unions all identify the two-child benefit cap as the key driver of child poverty. You don't need to do more research on this. The facts are already out there.”
Sultana will sit as an Independent until the whip is restored, but she poured cold water on the idea of remaining outside the Labour Party or joining any “progressive alliance” – an idea floated by Jeremy Corbyn as a way to oppose Starmer’s government.
“It literally has not crossed my mind,” she said. “It is not something I'm contemplating.
“My background is in the Labour Party and in the Labour movement. I joined the party as a 17-year-old … my priority is to champion my constituents and go through the process that the whips’ office has outlined.
“I just feel very strongly about the fact that every day that we do not scrap the two-child benefit cap, 10,000 children in my constituency continue to live in avoidable poverty, and therefore that needs to be [scrapped] imminently.”
Estimates on how much it would cost the UK Government to scrap the controversial two-child benefit cap vary. The Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) has said that ending it would cost £1.7 billion per year and lift 300,000 children out of poverty.
The Resolution Foundation has said it would cost £2.5bn to scrap the cap "today", which would "rise to around £3.6bn a year, as more families are affected" by the continued roll-out of the policy.
Sultana argued that: “If you want to find the money, you can do so. It’s a matter of political will.”
She suggested a two per cent wealth tax on assets over £10 million, which she said would raise £24bn – or equalising capital gains tax with income tax, which she said would raise £16bn.
“This isn't complicated, and every day that this isn't happening, children in my constituency and across the country are facing hardship when they don't need to be,” Sultana said.
The Labour Party were approached for comment.
