How can Jeremy Corbyn end his suspension as a Labour MP?

Jeremy Corbyn is in a strange position, in that he is a member of the Labour Party, but not of the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP). That means he cannot call himself a Labour MP – despite what it says on his Twitter account – and that if there were a general election he would not be able to stand as a Labour candidate. 

He was suspended as a party member for his unapologetic response on 29 October to the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) report into the party’s handling of antisemitism under his leadership. He was automatically suspended from the PLP as a consequence. 

However, when a disciplinary panel of Labour’s National Executive Committee restored his party membership last week, the restoration of his membership of the PLP did not automatically follow. Instead, Corbyn was told by Nick Brown, the Labour chief whip, that his suspension as a Labour MP would continue for three months, but that it would be kept under review. 

Leave aside the rights and wrongs of Corbyn’s exclusion, which are being loudly contended, what are the rules? The PLP has its own rules, called standing orders, which give the party leader and the chief whip the power to investigate an MP’s conduct and “in exceptional circumstances” to propose the withdrawal of the whip (helpfully explained in the standing orders: “that is, expulsion from the PLP”). Such a proposal should be put to a meeting of the PLP and decided by a vote there. 

Corbyn’s case has not reached that point, as he has merely been suspended from the PLP while the investigation proceeds, which the chief whip can do on his own authority. 

What, then, are Corbyn’s options? His supporters argue that the chief whip’s decision – with Keir Starmer’s approval – is a political one, contrary to the recommendations of the EHRC report, which Starmer pledged to accept. The EHRC said that Labour should set up an independent disciplinary procedure, which Starmer has said will happen in the new year. 

The problem with Corbyn’s supporters’ argument is that the restoration of his party membership was decided by an NEC panel, which was not independent. So if they are saying that Corbyn’s right to be a member of the PLP should be decided by an independent body, they should say the same about his party membership.

In which case he would have to wait until a new independent disciplinary body has been set up. Meanwhile, he is likely to remain suspended from the PLP, with any “review” in the hands of the chief whip and liable to be extended indefinitely. 

Corbyn could appeal to a meeting of the PLP, but he is unlikely to find much joy there: most Labour MPs feel that he has brought his exclusion on himself. Without an emphatic and contrite apology for the EHRC finding that Labour under his leadership broke discrimination law, they are unlikely to change their minds. 

Corbyn’s hope of rehabilitation must rest, therefore, on being confirmed as a party member by an independent procedure, which might then force the PLP to change its rules. That will probably take longer than three months.