What happens when you lose the party whip?

About this episode

Neil Duncan-Jordan MP discusses his rebellion against the party whip and the implications of recent political controversies.

What happens when you lose the party whip? A conversation with Neil Duncan-Jordan MP Labour MP Neil Duncan-Jordan joins us this week to reflect on his experience as one of the new intake’s most prominent rebels. He describes defying the whip over the means-testing of the Winter Fuel Allowance and proposed disability benefit cuts, the fallout from his suspension from the Parliamentary Labour Party, and the personal and political pressures that come with rebellion. He also discusses his relationship with the Whips and explains why he has twice called for Sir Keir Starmer to step down, most recently in the wake of the Mandelson affair.   In this week’s episode, we also assess Starmer’s increasingly fragile position following the Mandelson–Epstein controversy, examining the risk of further damaging disclosures about Mandelson’s contact with Ministers and the potential implications for the Government’s legislative programme. We untangle the constitutional confusion surrounding proposals to strip Peter Mandelson and other disgraced peers of their titles, exploring weaknesses in the House of Lords’ Code of Conduct, and the broader dangers of legislating in response to a single…

People in this episode

Guest: Neil Duncan-Jordan

Topics covered

• party whip
• political rebellion
• Winter Fuel Allowance
• disability benefits
• Parliamentary conduct
• Gordon Brown standards reform
• Mandelson controversy

Keywords

• party whip
• Neil Duncan-Jordan
• Labour Party
• Mandelson affair
• political pressure
• Gordon Brown
• standards reform
• Winter Fuel Allowance
• disability benefits
• House of Lords

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Parliamentary Labour Party, House of Lords, Labour, Hansard Society

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