One of the seven suspended Labour MPs has spoken out against the whipping process used to get her to support the two-child benefit cap. If true, this bullying by Labour alleged by Apsana Begum is outrageous.

In media interviews, she has said that Labour whips said the party’s support for her in the matter of domestic abuse against her by her husband was contingent – depended – upon her voting against the amendment that called for the cap to be lifted.

That would be blackmail, of course.

Here’s one such interview:

Imagine the outrage if Corbyn had done this to a Jewish victim of domestic abuse. https://t.co/to1eWekBWf

— Frank Owen’s Legendary Paintbrush🥀🇵🇸🇾🇪 (@OwenPaintbrush) July 24, 2024

In this one, she says the whips told her Labour would only support her work against domestic abuse – in other words, Parliamentary Bills on the subject – if she co-operated:

Labour whips attempted to blackmail #ApsanaBegum into voting against the amendment calling for the removal of the #2childBenefitCap, by making clear the party would only support her work against #domesticabuse if she co-operated. https://t.co/KEBfXZuL6y

— Martin Philip Odoni (@HavetStorm) July 24, 2024

This is beyond unacceptable; it is outrageous.

To use the experiences of a domestic abuse victim as a blackmail tool against her is bad enough, but to threaten to jeopardise any relief for the who-knows-how-many other victims of domestic abuse, in order to continue impoverishing hundreds of thousands of children, is a monstrous abuse of power.

I see several possibilities regarding how this may develop in the future.

• Labour’s whips admit Ms Begum’s claim is true and the party suffers an early – and entirely deserved – loss of public confidence.
• Labour’s whips deny the claim but an investigation is launched to discover the facts.
• Other Labour MPs – who did support the party’s line on the vote – come forward to say they were blackmailed in ways related to their own personal circumstances.

If the situation is allowed to drag on for a long period of time, it has the potential to cause serious harm to Keir Starmer’s credibility; as party leader, he carries responsibility for the actions of its whips.

He is already in disrepute for suspending Ms Begum and the seven other rebels; this could drop him into the mire.

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