Edinburgh MP Christine Jardine sacked from Lib Dem frontbenches over rebellion in memory of late husband
Lib Dem MPs had been told to abstain from the vote, which aimed to cut benefits for ‘less severe’ mental health conditions.
Edinburgh MP Christine Jardine has been sacked from the Lib Dem frontbenches after voting against a Conservative proposal to slash some mental health benefits.
Ms Jardine lost her position as Lib Dem spokeswoman for women and equalities and spokeswoman for Scotland on Wednesday night after breaking the party whip.
The Conservative amendment to the UK government’s welfare reform Bill would have lowered Universal Credit payments for those with “less severe” mental health conditions, and blocked some foreign nationals from certain benefits.
Lib Dem MPs had been whipped into abstaining from the vote, but nine voted against it. The amendment was voted down by 416 votes to 103.
Ms Jardine, who has been the Edinburgh West MP since 2017, said she rebelled against the whip because of her late husband Calum Macdonald, who had bipolar disorder.
She said: “Calum had bipolar disorder. Several people around me have mental health conditions the amendment dismissed as ‘minor’.
“It’s the first time in eight years I have not gone with the whip, but it was personal and something I had to do. I fully appreciate that having gone against the whip, my position on the frontbench was untenable for the party.
“I continue to support [Lib Dems leader] Ed [Davey] and the party, everything we do and everything that we strive to achieve. I’m disappointed, but to not oppose that amendment would have been, to me, unpalatable.”
Mr Macdonald died of a heart attack just weeks before Ms Jardine was first elected in 2017. They had been married for 30 years.
A party spokesperson said MPs were to abstain as “a vote against was effectively a vote to implement this shambolic Bill in full”.
The spokesperson added: "Instead Liberal Democrats voted to oppose the welfare Bill altogether. Christine decided to take a different view and therefore is no longer on the front bench.”
The government’s welfare reform legislation managed to clear the Commons on Wednesday night after being heavily watered down.
The original Bill had aimed to cut the eligibility criteria for personal independence payments. This benefit is devolved as the adult disability payment in Scotland, but any cuts at a UK-level would affect how much money the Scottish Government received for this payment.
More than 120 Labour backbenchers planned to rebel on this, with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer U-turning to confirm the proposals would instead only apply to new claimants.
Dozens of backbenchers continued to oppose the idea. The proposed cuts ended up being dropped completely. This means the reforms will save the government no money.
The watered-down Bill passed by 336 votes to 242.
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