It’s three months on from Starmer’s brutal suspension of the seven Labour MPs who voted for the SNP’s amendment on the two child benefit cap. Until they are let back into the party – which may take some time judging by previous experience – they are independent MPs…

Some of them just can’t get over losing Starmer’s warm embrace. They’re still pretending to be Labour MPs on Twitter…

Richard Burgon, Zarah Sultana, and John McDonnell all still have Labour in their bios. The rest have removed all mention of their old party. The onetime Shadow Chancellor and Shadow Justice Secretary might need a stern word from their former employer…

John McDonnell spoke first at tonight’s gathering of expelled MPs and some of the socialist ones who still have the whip. He said he was actually impressed by the extent of Starmer’s socialism:

“I was elated, absolutely elated when Labour was elected, and you know in those first weeks I’ve been encouraged. If you look at the stuff and Keir mentioned some of it today: rail renationalisation, the bus regulation, the restoration of trade union rights – all drawn actually from manifestos in 2017 and 2019. But we mustn’t say that.”

Naturally the ex-Shadow Chancellor finished off by saying that keeping the two-child benefit cap and means-testing the Winter Fuel Allowance would be Starmer’s downfall. He stopped short of predicting an election loss next time round but pointed out that this level of discontent never usually appears until mid-term…

Former Shadow Chancellor and Marxist John McDonnell took to ITV Peston to decry Rayner’s “pint-sized loser” comment about Rishi Sunak. He magnanimously told Peston that “I don’t do that sort of thing, I think that tarnished it a little bit.” Guido reminds his readers of Mcdonnell’s own less than savoury personal attacks on politicians…

Speaking about Esther McVey in 2014, he famously he asked “why aren’t we lynching the b**ch?”, he joked about his desire to “assassinate” Margaret Thatcher if he could go back in time, and he also demanded the police “arrest” and “prosecute” Tony Blair back in 2013. Stones and glass houses…

Tories will be rubbing their hands this morning as Rachel Reeves doubles down on Labour’s commitment to “borrowing to invest”, for example £28 billion in “green investment”, and funding everything else with tax. Borrowing is taxation deferred…

Reeves reminds Guido of John McDonnell’s 2017 claim that new borrowing would “pay for itself” and that the “enormous social and financial returns” would make it all worthwhile. When Labour was roundly bashed for its trigger-happy commitments then, the cost of borrowing was at an all-time low. Interest rates are now at 5.25% and Reeves can only promise to delay her flagship borrowing project for so long – the gilt market is already showing nerves at Labour plans. Big government, big spending is in Labour’s DNA. “Iron fiscal rules” can be transient once a party gets into power…

Labour’s descent into gutter politics is still causing splash-back. On Peston last night, John McDonnell didn’t hold back over the Sunak attacks. The former Shadow Chancellor argued “you never go for the person in this individual way… it’s unacceptable”, before appealing to Nandy personally – “you’re better than this”.  This didn’t go down well with Lisa, who hit back that she would “not take lessons from you about civility in politics”. McDonnell has never apologised for endorsing the lynching Esther McVey….

McDonnell then restated his case:

“You don’t do this. This is not Labour politics. We’re better than this”.

Apparently not…

John McDonnell asks Simon Case why he hasn’t initiated probe into claims Boris tried appointing Carrie to a Foreign Office job:

Simon Case: “Any investigation under the ministerial code can only be authorised by the PM”.
William Wragg: “Is he not keen?”