Keir Starmer’s show of force sends message to his backbenchers

By removing whip from seven MPs, PM makes clear that he is not about to abandon his ruthless mode of operating

A new Labour prime minister with a landslide majority faced the first real test of his authority with a party rebellion from MPs concerned about a tough stance on welfare.

That prime minister was Tony Blair, in December 1997, when 47 Labour MPs voted against the government including a frontbench resignation over a bill to cut benefits for single-parent families. But no one lost the whip.