Keir Starmer reinstates whip to four Labour rebels as PM prepares for Budget showdown

Ms Maskell, who labelled the plan to cut welfare an "omnishambles, was a leading figure in the rebellion.

Meanwhile, Mr Duncan-Jordan, Leishman and Hinchliff were all elected as new Labour MPs for the first time in 2024.

The trio also rebelled against Sir Keir on other legislative issues, including planning reforms.

Sir Keir came down hard on Labour rebels after more than 120 MPs threatened to vote down his welfare cuts.

However, the Government was ultimately forced to back down on its proposal to cut welfare by more than £5billion.

While the Chancellor is not expected to announce any major reforms to welfare on November 26, Ms Reeves recently hinted at coming back with a second reforms bill.

“We can’t leave welfare untouched," the Chancellor said.

"We can’t get to the end of this parliamentary session and I’ve basically done nothing … We have to do reform in the right way and take people with us.”

However, Sir Keir has been slowly restoring the whip to rebellious backbenchers ahead of November 26.

Ex-Shadow Justice Secretary Richard Burgon and Montgomeryshire & Glyndwr MP Steve Witherden both had the whip restored after previously calling to scrap the two-child benefit cap.

Former Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell and Poplar & Limehouse MP Apsana Begum also had the whip restored last month.

However, ex-Labour MP Zarah Sultana opted to join forces with Jeremy Corbyn to become co-leader of the hard-left, drama-fuelled Your Party.

Meanwhile, Mother of the House, Diane Abbott, had the whip suspended for a second time in 12 months after doubling down on her controversial claims about antisemitism.

Andrew Gwynne also continues to sit as an independent, having been booted out of the Labour Party when offensive messages were leaked from a local WhatsApp group, called Trigger Me Timbers.

However, Ms Reeves has also been sent a major warning from Labour's new deputy leader Lucy Powell.

Ms Powell, who defeated Sir Keir's staunch ally Bridget Phillipson for the deputy leadership last month, heaped pressure on the Chancellor to find alternative ways to plug a £20billion Budget blackhole.

Speaking to the BBC earlier today, Ms Powell said: "We should be following through on our manifesto, of course. There's no question about that."

During the 2024 General Election campaign, Sir Keir categorically ruled out raising income tax, VAT or national insurance.

However, Ms Reeves appeared to break the spirit of the once-ironclad pledge in her maiden Budget by hiking national insurance contributions for employers.

Speaking from Downing Street earlier this week, the Chancellor refused to rule out breaking the manifesto commitment completely.

“We have got to do the right thing," Ms Reeves said.

Sir Keir also stopped short of sticking to his manifesto pledge last week.

During a heated exchange at Prime Minister's Questions, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch asked Sir Keir if he stood by his manifesto tax promises.

"As she well knows, no Prime Minister or Chancellor will ever set out their plans in advance," Sir Keir told MPs.