Imran Hussain suspended by Labour over two-child benefit cap

Mr Hussain, Apsana Begum, Richard Burgon, Ian Byrne, Rebecca Long-Bailey, John McDonnell and Zarah Sultana have all been suspended from the Parliamentary party, meaning they will now sit as independent MPs.

It is understood the decision will be reviewed in six months' time.

The Prime Minister saw off his first Commons rebellion on Tuesday, with the Government comfortably defeating calls to scrap the cap.

The cap, introduced in 2015 by then-Conservative chancellor George Osborne, restricts child welfare payments to the first two children born to most families.

Mr Hussain - who has been MP for Bradford South since 2015 - said: "I voted to scrap the two-child limit, and I am disappointed to have had the whip suspended over this vote.

"But it was important for me to stand up for my constituents who are among the worst affected by a policy that every organisation fighting child poverty has urged the Government to scrap.

"The two-child limit is one of the biggest factors driving the soaring child poverty rate that sees almost half of all children in Bradford East living in homes that are unable to make ends meet.

"I remain committed to this Government's bold plans for a New Deal for Working People, Great British Energy, public ownership of rail, and others to undo 14 years of damage caused by the Tories, but as I set out last week, we must do much more to address child poverty."

Ahead of the vote, Sir Keir said there is "no silver bullet" to end child poverty but acknowledged the "passion" of Labour MPs who were considering rebelling over the continuation of the Tory measure.

The Government said it was not prepared to make "unfunded promises" by abolishing the cap.

The decision to remove the whip from the seven who defied the Government over the amendment is an early show of ruthlessness from the new administration - and sends a message that dissent will not be taken lightly.

More than 40 Labour MPs recorded no vote, with some of those listed spotted in the chamber throughout the day, while others will have had permission to miss the vote.

Labour Shipley MP Anna Dixon and Labour West MP Naz Shah voted with the Government.

Bradford South MP Judith Cummins and Tory Keighley and Ilkley MP Robbie Moore did not take part in the vote. 

Anna Dixon, Labour MP for Shipley (Image: Submitted)

Ms Dixon said: "With over a third of children in my home city of Bradford living in poverty, I will argue for swift action to address this.

"Since arriving in Parliament just over two weeks ago, I have seen first-hand how committed this Government is to delivering for children living in poverty.

"I support the Government in establishing a task force to fully understand the best way to tackle child poverty in the UK.

"None of the votes yesterday evening would have led to the scrapping of the two child benefit cap.

"I will continue to work effectively from the Government benches and argue for evidence-based action to address child poverty.

"I will feed constituents' experiences into the Child Poverty Taskforce and urge for action on this to be included in our first budget.

"I will work constructively with all Bradford MPs to address the issues facing local people."

Ms Shah and Mr Moore did not comment on the situation when approached by the Telegraph & Argus.

A spokesperson for Ms Cummins said she did not vote as she is now a Deputy Speaker. 

The House of Commons voted 363 to 103, majority 260, to reject the amendment tabled in the name of Stephen Flynn, Westminster leader of the Scottish National Party.

Mr Flynn said Labour had "failed its first major test in Government" by choosing not to "deliver meaningful change from years of Tory misrule".

"This is now the Labour Government's two-child cap - and it must take ownership of the damage it is causing, including the appalling levels of poverty in the UK," he added.