‘Forced into a vote’ - Rebel South Tyneside MPs hit out at Labour whip in key Starmer motion
South Tyneside’s MPs could face repercussions after rebelling against the Prime Minister over the Privileges Committee motion.
South Tyneside’s MPs defied the government and voted in favour of referring the Prime Minister to the Privileges Committee over the appointment of Lord Peter Mandelson as the US ambassador.
The motion was tabled by the Conservative Party who called for the referral to investigate whether Sir Keir Starmer had misled the House of Commons.
In response to the motion, the Labour Party issued a three-line whip to order their MPs to vote against the motion.
Defying the three-line whip
The three-line whip is the strictest requirement to vote a certain way and MPs could face serious consequences if they defy the wishes of their party.
Emma Lewell, MP for South Shields, and Kate Osborne, MP for Jarrow and Gateshead East, were among 15 Labour MPs who rebelled against the Prime Minister.
By refusing to follow the three-line whip, both Ms Lewell and Ms Osborne could see the whip being withdrawn.
This means that the MPs could be expelled from the Labour Party and must sit in the House of Commons as an independent until the whip is restored.
The motion was voted down by a majority of 112, with 223 in favour and 335 against.
‘Questioning the government’s moral compass’
During the debate in the House of Commons on Tuesday, April 28, Ms Lewell spoke about how she would be defying the government and highlighted the increasing levels of abuse that she is facing in the wake of the Mandelson scandal.
The South Shields MP said: “I feel that the way that today’s [April 28] vote has been handled by the Government smacks once again of being out of touch and disconnected from the public mood.
“The fact that MPs like me are being whipped into voting against this motion is in my view wrong.
“It has played into the terrible narrative that there is something to hide and good, decent, colleagues will be accused of being complicit in a cover up.
“I cannot even begin to express how much it hurts me when people are screaming at me in the street that I am a member of the ‘Paedo Protectors Party’.
“Prior to this scandal, people criticised the government’s policies and at times, lack of political narrative.
“But to me, they are now questioning the government’s moral compass.”
Mandelson should never have been appointed
Following the vote, the Ms Osborne slammed the appointment of Mandelson as the US ambassador and commended Emma for her speech in the House of Commons.
The Jarrow and Gateshead East MP commented: “As many of us are aware, Mandelson's association with convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has been known for a very long time.
“He should never have been appointed, he should never have been considered for the appointment, and the answers provided so far are insufficient and frankly unbelievable.
“I want to commend my neighbour and friend Emma Lewell for her heartfelt speech in the chamber today.
“I want to make clear to constituents, I believe that Members of Parliament should not have been forced into a vote, it should never have been a whipped vote.
“I also made clear to the Labour Whips that the Prime Minister should have referred himself to the committee.
“As the Prime Minister did not do that and it was pushed to a vote, I voted for the motion.”