Suspended rebel MP Rachael Maskell: ‘If Labour doesn’t change, I fear where this country is headed’

Rachael Maskell was suspended from Labour last week in a move she fears could be “destructive” for the party.

The MP for York Central was one of four Labour MPs to have the whip removed for rebelling against the government’s welfare reforms.

This is despite more than 120 joining forces against the plans for disability benefit cuts, a rebellion which led to the government dropping the most significant of cuts from its welfare bill.

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Maskell, who has been a Labour MP for a decade, was one of the most outspoken critics of the government’s plans, including after concessions had been made.

She joined charities and disabled people’s organisations in calling for the bill to be dropped, tabling an amendment which would have blocked the bill from moving forward without further engagement with disabled people.

This did not win enough support from MPs and the government’s plans to cut the health element of universal credit in half for new claimants will proceed. This is set to impact 750,000 people by 2030.

It will also see the standard rate of universal credit increase above the rate of inflation, a measure which Maskell and her colleagues have welcomed.

Labour MPs Neil Duncan-Jordan, Brian Leishman and Chris Hinchcliff similarly had the whip removed.

In the aftermath of her suspension, Rachael Maskell spoke to the Big Issue about her future in the Labour Party, her fears for the country’s future and what she would like the government to change.

‘If that is my crime, I plead guilty’

How are you feeling since losing the whip?

I’m absolutely fine, thank you. I’m in politics because there is a job to be done protecting the most vulnerable people in our society – people who have been forgotten and marginalised. We’ve got a broken world that’s fractured, which is tearing itself apart. We’ve got a country which is not functioning, and the political orthodoxy of our time isn’t reaching into those places which desperately need help.

I have no regret in standing up for people who are disadvantaged by the system. I could never push people into deeper poverty. I don’t regret challenging the government to open its eyes to the reality of other people’s lives, and that’s why I was so proud to work with deaf and disabled people’s organisations, because lived experience has to be heard in the heart of our democracy. If that is my crime, I plead guilty.

How were you told you had lost the whip and what justification was given?

I went in and met with the chief whip. He was professional and gracious, but I was with him for about an hour, and clearly I spoke back as well about my perspective and my wider concerns. I was told I was under investigation. I asked that this would be concluded quickly. I’ve supported many colleagues who have been suspended and seen how destructive that has been. It gains nothing, and I hope that there’s significant learning from the party that we can be better in the future.

What was your initial reaction?

I think sadness rather than anger. You probably couldn’t get somebody who’s more Labour than me. I worked for a trade union for 17 years. Every weekend I’m out campaigning. I’ve been on the NEC [National Executive Committee] of the party, constituency chair and branch officer. I’ve served the party significantly over the years. Everywhere you cut me, I bleed Labour. 

And to find myself suspended, because I’ve spoken for the poor and disadvantaged, I think the world is perplexed. I’ve had an explosion of messages. By the time we open an email, a whole host more drop in. I feel a bit love bombed – people hugging me in the streets, shouting out the car windows. It’s been overwhelming. 

I want good to come from this. Clearly there’s the communication within our party. Nobody at any point picked up the phone to me. I put down the same recent amendment as Meg Hillier, and she maintains the whip. They engaged with her. They didn’t engage with me. It says more about the party management, I think, than my conduct. 

We will see what the next chapter brings. Things happen in politics. Things change, and it can only surely change for the good. I’m not sure we can get much worse. I’m hopeful for this to be a moment of opportunity.

‘People are looking for hope in very dark places’

Do you think your suspension and that of your colleagues could deepen divisions rather than being a show of strength?

I don’t think this shows anything, quite frankly. I don’t know what it’s trying to achieve. We’re mature individuals. The way you resolve an issue is to sit round the table, and we’re not seeing that. I appreciate that the prime minister has got his mind on many things, but I hope over the summer that he reflects on what has happened and about his responsibility as leader and about the culture that has developed.

When the whip is restored, will you stay a Labour MP?

Completely. I am absolutely committed to the Labour Party. 

You wouldn’t join Zarah Sultana’s new party?

Oh, no. 

Do you feel like you have more power to make change as a Labour MP?

Of course. I’m not in politics to be a passive observer. I want there to be change.

Do you feel proud that you stood by disabled people?

I don’t think I feel proud. It’s just what I do. I’ve done that all my life. As a physiotherapist, I fought for my patients. I was head of equalities at a national trade union. And now as an MP, I will continue to advocate for those who have had their agency removed.

How did you feel when the welfare bill went through?

I applaud the government for lifting the standard rate for universal credit because people have been impoverished. I would like them to adopt the Joseph Rowntree Foundation guarantee of essentials. I feel I have got a heavy responsibility to ensure we relieve the distress of people. We know that financial distress leads to mental health distress, and this costs more – because more people will be dependent on adult social care, on the NHS.

You have backed the Big Issue’s Poverty Zero campaign. Why is that something you have supported?

Poverty is very real. It’s an unnecessary outcome of poor politics. I see the brokenness of our society as the responsibility of failed politics, not failed people. I used to always say it’s the people making the decisions that should be behind bars, not the people who are the victims of the state ending up in bad places.

I believe politicians should make sure that we create an environment in which people can thrive and not struggle to survive. There’s no way I would be pushing people into greater inequality and that’s why I support any campaign which looks seriously at poverty alleviation.

What are your hopes for the future of the Labour Party?

I’m always the optimist. I believe things happen for a reason. I am at peace at what’s happened, because it probably had to happen for there to be the conversation about the Labour Party finding its moral purpose. It was put in place 125 years ago because people were disenfranchised. People were being exploited at work. For those out of work, they were being neglected. There was huge injustice on the backs of working people, and they came together to try and tilt the curve of history into a better place. 

The need for the Labour Party back in 1900 is no different from the need of the Labour Party today. It is not there to encourage the wealthy to get wealthier. It is there to serve the desperate need of the injustices of our time, and there are many. 

We know that people are looking for hope in very dark places, whether that is in Reform UK (and we know that story doesn’t end well from our history) or whether it is looking online or being exploited. We’ve got a massive responsibility to be Labour, or else we are failing another generation.

Do you feel hopeful for the future of the country? 

If Labour changes. I think we are at a pivotal moment. If nothing changes, then I fear where this country is heading.

‘The fight never stops’

You spoke in parliament about your constituents and how they would be impacted by the cuts. Have you spoken to any of them since the concessions were made and the welfare bill was passed?

I opened with a story in my speech [about a father who feared his benefits would be taken away]. I was very nervous about putting his case out there. I did keep his anonymity to protect him. I wanted to honour him. I wanted to keep him safe.  He emailed the day before yesterday and thanked me and said: ‘I feel I’ve been heard and seen.’ It was so powerful and impactful. He felt that he was well advocated for, but also it was a story where I know many of my colleagues were moved to tears.

Lived experience is so important. It is to share that raw reality that people live. That story has to be told. It has to be understood. Thankfully, because of the work that we did, he and his little family are going to be safe. But I know that others won’t, and that’s why the fight never stops. We have to continue. Every day, trains are stopped because somebody’s on the line or people take an overdose or they jump off bridges. 

During Covid, I had this picture of wrapping my arms around my constituency and saying: ‘I just want to keep you safe.’ I want to protect people. I turn up to work to do that each day. And if the Labour Party diverts away from that, that’s where questions have got to be asked.

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