UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has suspended four Labour MPs, including Rachael Maskell, Neil Duncan-Jordan, Brian Leishman, and Chris Hinchliff, following a rebellion against government welfare reforms, specifically disability benefit cuts. The suspensions were imposed due to persistent breaches of party discipline and the removal of trade envoy roles for three MPs. Starmer’s move is seen as an effort to reassert authority within the Labour Party amid growing internal dissent. Maskell, who denies being a rebel and remains loyal to Labour, has defended her stance on welfare reform. Subsequently, seven Labour MPs have had the whip removed for defying Starmer on welfare reforms. In parallel, Starmer faced questioning by parliamentary committees regarding the government’s plans to tackle poverty and announced a review into raising the state pension age, which has drawn attention for its terms of reference including linking pension age to life expectancy and international adjustment mechanisms. The government also introduced tighter rules on ministerial pay-offs, denying payments to ministers serving less than six months. Both Labour and the opposition party Reform UK have indicated openness to increasing the retirement age as part of broader welfare and pension reforms.