Why has Apsana Begum remained suspended from the Labour Party?

21 March 2025 Lewis Callery

Apsana Begum, MP for Poplar and Limehouse, is one of three MPs not to be readmitted to government following a suspension in July 2024.

In July 2024, the Labour Party suspended Apsana Begum and six other “rebel” MPs for an initial six months for voting against the two-child benefit cap. On 5 February 2025, four MPs were readmitted. Begum, alongside Zarah Sultana and John McDonnell, remain suspended.

There is no limit to how long an MP can be suspended.

Begum’s prolonged suspension means she will continue to represent her constituency as an Independent and not as a member of the Labour Party.

In a tweet posted on 5 February, John McDonnell said he was ‘relaxed by his situation’ as he did not expect the whip back until after a decision was reached on his involvement in a recent pro-Palestine demonstration.

It is less clear why Begum and Sultana have not been readmitted.

Writing in an article for the Guardian in February, Aletha Adu stated that MPs who agreed to avoid future rebellions would be readmitted to the party while those who continued to be perceived ‘troublemakers’ would not.

Begum is vocal on the issues that concern her constituency. She regularly tweets her concerns to her 54.3k followers on X.

On 8 March, she called upon the UK government to ‘hold Israel to account’ for its actions in Gaza.

Responding to the government’s proposed cuts to disability benefits on 12 March, she tweeted: ‘I will not stand to see cuts to benefits cost lives in my constituency.’

And since her vote to scrap the two-child benefit cap in July 2024, she has voted against the government a further three times.

Labour has a history of handing out long suspensions. The Party suspended Diane Abbot, current MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington, for over nine months before restoring her the whip. They suspended Nick Brown, former Chief Whip, for over a year before he eventually resigned and Christina Rees, former MP for Neath, for even longer.

Begum is entering the ninth month of her suspension. It remains unclear when she will be readmitted to the Labour Party.

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