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Labour’s ‘suicide squad’ proves the Left never learn

To oppose the leadership now over the two-child benefit cap looks like a needless act of martyrdom – but they can’t help themselves

The US Congress has “The Squad” – the gang of Left-wing Democrats that includes Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. And now the House of Commons has “The Suicide Squad”. After seven Labour MPs had the whip withdrawn for six months for defying their own party over an SNP motion calling for an end to the two-child benefit cap, you find yourself asking, “Why so stupid?”
For “futile gesture”, see former shadow chancellor John McDonnell, Richard Burgon, Ian Byrne, Rebecca Long-Bailey, Imran Hussain, Apsana Begum and Zarah Sultana. There are potentially hundreds of other Labour MPs who oppose the cap – which forbids parents from claiming child benefit for more than two children – but they were sensible enough to hold ranks and recognise that the opening week after a spectacular general election victory was not by any measure the moment in which to publicly rebel against the first Labour administration for 14 years.
Still, Jeremy Corbyn, like an exiled Yoda looking over his Jedi protégées, must have been satisfied that his lessons on needless and counterproductive tokenism have been heeded. “Taught you well, I have,” he whispered from the remote planet of Islington.
The time will come when this issue will be unavoidable for Sir Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves, so to oppose the leadership now looks like a self-defeating and unintentionally amusing act of needless martyrdom. But that’s the Corbynite way. When presented with the prospect of meaningful co-operation or a cliff, they always choose the cliff. “This isn’t a game,” said Sultana. “This is about people’s lives.” Well, it kind of is a game if you know what you are doing won’t achieve anything.
They all know Starmer has his eyes on them, expecting disloyalty and getting it. They also know Starmer is in a belligerent mood. Burgon, who spent the 2019 election campaign as Corbyn’s media proxy, has never met a trap he didn’t want to fall into. Long-Bailey famously reacted with surprise when she was removed from the front benches by Starmer after endorsing an interview with the actress Maxine Peake that attacked him. 
Begum and Sultana are on double-secret probation after criticism of the leadership over Palestine. McDonnell is the odd one out because he is an astute politician, regardless of what you think of his views. It seems like the urge to act on principle was just irresistible, even if the act itself has no symbolic value or significance. No change there, then.

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