The Chief Whip is a political leader whose task is to enforce the
whipping system, which aims to ensure that
legislator
A legislator (also known as a deputy or lawmaker) is a person who writes and passes laws, especially someone who is a member of a legislature. Legislators are often elected by the people of the state. Legislatures may be supra-national (for e ...
s who are members of a
political party
A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...
attend and vote on
legislation
Legislation is the process or result of enrolling, enacting, or promulgating laws by a legislature, parliament, or analogous governing body. Before an item of legislation becomes law it may be known as a bill, and may be broadly referred to ...
as the party leadership prescribes.
United Kingdom
In
British politics, the Chief Whip of the governing party in the
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...
is usually also appointed as
Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury, a
Cabinet
Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to:
Furniture
* Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers
* Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets
* Filing ...
position. The Government Chief Whip has an official residence at
12 Downing Street. However, the Chief Whip's office is currently located at
9 Downing Street.
The Chief Whip can wield great power over their party's MPs, including cabinet ministers, being seen to speak at all times with the voice of the
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...
.
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the first female British prime ...
was known for using her Chief Whip as a "cabinet enforcer".
The role of Chief Whip is regarded as secretive, as the Whip is concerned with the discipline of their own party's
Members of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members oft ...
, never appearing on television or radio in their capacity as whip. An exception occurred on 1 April 2019 when
Julian Smith chose to criticise his own government and Prime Minister. Whips in the House of Commons do not, by convention, speak in debates.
The Government Chief Whip is assisted by the Deputy Chief Whip, other whips, and assistant whips. In order to provide the whip with a salary, the government whips are appointed to positions in
HM Treasury
His Majesty's Treasury (HM Treasury), occasionally referred to as the Exchequer, or more informally the Treasury, is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for developing and executing the government's public finance policy and ec ...
and in the
Royal Household under the
Lord Steward of the Household. The whips are not fully active in either of these departments, though they do undertake a number of responsibilities. The Deputy Chief Whip is
Treasurer of HM Household
The Treasurer of the Household is a member of the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. The position is usually held by one of the government deputy Chief Whips in the House of Commons. The current holder of the office is Ma ...
, the next two whips are
Comptroller of HM Household and
Vice-Chamberlain of HM Household. The remaining whips are
Lords Commissioners of the Treasury
In the United Kingdom there are at least six Lords Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury, serving as a commission for the ancient office of Treasurer of the Exchequer. The board consists of the First Lord of the Treasury, the Second Lord of the ...
. Assistant whips, and whips of opposition parties, generally do not receive such appointments. The Government Chief Whip in the House of Lords also holds the role of
Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms, while the Government Deputy Chief Whip in the Lords holds the role of
Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard. Other whips, who are fewer in number due to the decreased importance of party discipline in the Lords, are appointed as
Lords in Waiting, if men, and Baronesses in Waiting, if women. As well as their duties as whips, Lords whips speak in the chamber (unlike Commons whips) to support departmental ministers, or act as a spokesperson for government departments with no minister in the Lords.
Outside the government, the Official Opposition Chief Whip in the Commons, like the
Leader of the Opposition
The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...
, receives a
stipend in addition to their parliamentary salary, because their additional responsibilities will make them unable to hold down another job.
The whips, although superficially dictatorial, act as communicators between
backbenchers and the party leadership. Ultimately, if backbenchers are unhappy with the leadership's position, they can threaten to revolt during a vote and force the leadership to compromise.
While the whip was formally introduced to British politics by the
Irish Parliamentary Party
The Irish Parliamentary Party (IPP; commonly called the Irish Party or the Home Rule Party) was formed in 1874 by Isaac Butt, the leader of the Nationalist Party, replacing the Home Rule League, as official parliamentary party for Irish nation ...
under
Charles Stewart Parnell in the 1880s, in 1846 the
Duke of Wellington
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of 19th-century Britain, serving twice as prime minister o ...
advised the new
Conservative Party leader
Lord Stanley to ensure that his "whippers-in" were personally loyal. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the use of the term "whippers-in" was first recorded in the parliamentary sense in the
Annual Register of 1772.
The Whip as a Party Line
In the UK Parliament the importance of a vote is indicated by underlining of items on the "whip", which is the name of the letter the Chief Whip sends to all the MPs in their party at the start of the week. This letter informs them of the schedule for the days ahead and includes the sentence "Your attendance is absolutely essential" next to each debate in which there will be a vote. This sentence is underlined once, twice, or three times depending on the consequences that will be suffered if they do not turn up, hence the origin of the terms ''one-line whip'', ''two-line whip'' and ''three-line whip''. The actual vote they are to make is communicated to them in the chamber by hand signals during the division when the time comes (usually after the
division bell has been rung). Neither these instructions, which are visible to everyone in the chamber, nor the "whip" letter at the start of the week, are recorded in ''
Hansard
''Hansard'' is the traditional name of the transcripts of parliamentary debates in Britain and many Commonwealth countries. It is named after Thomas Curson Hansard (1776–1833), a London printer and publisher, who was the first official printe ...
'', as they are considered a matter internal to the
political party
A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...
. Any explicit direction to an MP as to how they should vote would be a breach of
parliamentary privilege
Parliamentary privilege is a legal immunity enjoyed by members of certain legislatures, in which legislators are granted protection against civil or criminal liability for actions done or statements made in the course of their legislative duties ...
.
The consequences of defying the party whip depend on the circumstances and are usually negotiated with the party whip in advance. The party whip's job is to ensure the outcome of the vote. The party in the majority can always win a vote, if its members obey the whip.
If the party has a large Commons majority, it can make allowances for MPs who are away on important business, or whose political circumstances require them to take a particular issue very seriously. Theoretically at least, expulsion from the party is an automatic consequence of defying a three-line whip.
Other such offences include betraying party loyalties. An example of this during
John Major's government was when nine Conservative MPs had the whip removed after voting against the government on its stance on the
Maastricht Treaty
The Treaty on European Union, commonly known as the Maastricht Treaty, is the foundation treaty of the European Union (EU). Concluded in 1992 between the then-twelve member states of the European Communities, it announced "a new stage in the p ...
, becoming known as Eurosceptics. In practice they remained Conservative MPs supporting the government on other issues.
Sir Bill Cash
Sir William Nigel Paul Cash (born 10 May 1940) is a British politician who has served as a Member of Parliament (MP) since 1984. A member of the Conservative Party, he was first elected for Stafford and then for Stone in Staffordshire in 1997. ...
,
Sir John Redwood
Sir John Alan Redwood (born 15 June 1951) is a British politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Wokingham in Berkshire since 1987. A member of the Conservative Party, he was Secretary of State for Wales in the Major governmen ...
and
Sir Iain Duncan Smith are still Conservative MPs. This was also the only time when MPs who were being whipped were cooperating with the opposite side's whips. In most cases the 'pairing' system enables one from each side to cancel out the other's vote if absent simultaneously. Despite the whip, individuals are entitled to vote according to their own beliefs, particularly when there is a "free vote" on a matter of conscience.
There are some cases in which the whip is removed because an issue is a matter of conscience. These include adoption, religion and equal opportunities. The impact of a whip being imposed on a matter of conscience can be damaging for a party leader. One such case was that of Iain Duncan Smith, who imposed a three-line whip against the adoption of children by unmarried couples which, at the time, meant gay couples could never adopt. Several
Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
MPs voted against the official party line, and Smith's authority was weakened.
Whips often employ a mixture of promises, cajoling and persuasion to force an unpopular vote. A whip should know major figures in an MP's local
constituency party and the MP's agent. There have been cases where sick MPs were wheeled into the House from far afield to vote for the government on a crucial vote. Former MP
Joe Ashton
Joseph William Ashton (9 October 1933 – 30 March 2020) was a British Labour Party politician who was known for his defence of the rights of Labour Members of Parliament (MPs) against the demands of the left wing of the party to subject the ...
recalled a case from the latter days of
James Callaghan's government:
I remember the famous case of Leslie Spriggs, the then-Member for St. Helens. We had a tied vote, and he was brought to the House in an ambulance having suffered a severe heart attack. The two Whips went out to look in the ambulance and there was Leslie Spriggs laid there as though he was dead. I believe that John Stradling Thomas said to Joe Harper, "How do we know that he is alive?" So, he leaned forward, turned the knob on the heart machine, the green light went around, and he said, "There, you've lost—it's 311." That is an absolutely true story. It is the sort of nonsense that used to happen. No one believes it, but it is true.
A
minister
Minister may refer to:
* Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric
** Minister (Catholic Church)
* Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department)
** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...
who defies the whip is generally dismissed from their job immediately, if they have not already resigned, and returns to being a backbencher. Sometimes their votes in Parliament are called the "
payroll vote", because they can be taken for granted. The consequences for a back-bencher can include the lack of future promotion to a government post, a reduction of party campaigning effort in his or her constituency during the next election, deselection by his or her local party activists, or, in extreme circumstances, "withdrawal of the whip" and expulsion from the party.
Lists of chief whips by party
*
Conservative Chief Whip
*
Labour Chief Whip
*
Liberal Democrats Chief Whip
The Chief Whip of the Liberal Democrats is responsible for administering the whipping system in the party which ensures that members attend and vote in parliament when the party leadership requires a majority vote. Whips, of which two are appoin ...
*
Ulster Unionist Chief Whip
This is a list of people who served as Chief Whip of the Ulster Unionist Party in the Parliament of the United Kingdom, the Parliament of Northern Ireland and the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
:1886: William Elliso ...
* ''For a list of former Government Chief Whips, see
Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury''
Principal Private Secretary to the Chief Whip
The Government Chief Whip's office is headed by a
Principal Private Secretary, who also acts as a go-between for ministers and the opposition to keep parliamentary business moving. The first officeholder, Charles Harris, was appointed privately in 1919 to assist Lord Edmund Talbot, the Conservative chief whip. He was retained by successive Conservative chief whips on a private basis, serving as their secretary during periods when the party was in government (1922–23, 1924–29 and 1935 onwards) until 1939, when the post formally became part of the civil service (as Assistant to the Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury) and Harris was appointed into it, with a salary of £850.
[ David Butler]
"Harris, Sir Charles Joseph William"
'' The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (online ed., Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print book ...
, September 2004). Retrieved 20 November 2019. He retired in 1961 and was succeeded by Freddie Warren; all subsequent appointees have been permanent civil servants.
* 1939–1961: Sir Charles Harris, KBE
* 1961–1978: Sir Freddie Warren, CBE
His entry
in ''Who Was Who
''Who's Who'' is a reference work. It is a book, and also a CD-ROM and a website, giving information on influential people from around the world. Published annually as a book since 1849, it lists people who influence British life, according to ...
'' states that he was "Secretary to the Government Chief Whip" between 1958 and 1979, but Sir Charles Harris did not retire until 1961 and ''The Times'' reported only in that year that Warren succeeded him as Secretary ("Presentation to Sir Charles Harris", ''The Times'', 21 July 1961, p. 8; "Chief Whip Appoints New Secretary", ''The Times'', 2 August 1961, p. 7). His obituary in ''The Times'' gives 1961 to 1978 ("Sir Alfred Warren." ''The Times'', 15 May 1990, p. 14.).
* 1978–2000: Sir Murdo Maclean
* 2000–2021: Sir Roy Stone, CBE
India
In India
India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...
, the concept of the whip was inherited from colonial British rule. Every major political party appoints a whip who is responsible for the party's discipline and behaviour on the floor of the house
A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air ...
. Usually, that person directs the party members to stick to the party's stand on certain issues and directs them to vote as per the direction of senior party members. However, there are some cases, such as Indian presidential election, where no whip can be issued to direct Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house ...
or Member of Legislative Assembly on whom to vote.
In other countries
There are also Chief Whips or similar positions in:
* Australia – party whip (Australia)
* Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million pe ...
* Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...
– Chief Government Whip
* Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. Th ...
* Ghana
Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in Ghana–Ivory Coast border, the west, Burkina ...
* Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
– Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach
* India
India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...
– See above
* Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
– Chief Whip
* Namibia
Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and e ...
* New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...
* Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
* Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...
– Minister for Parliamentary Business
* Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
– Chief Government Whip
* South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...
– Chief Whip of the Majority Party
The Chief Whip of the Majority Party is an official office bearer in the National Assembly of South Africa. , Pemmy Majodina of the African National Congress (ANC) serves as the Chief Whip of the Majority Party. She is the second woman to hold th ...
* Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, small ...
* Uganda
}), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The south ...
* United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...
– several equivalent positions: House Majority and Minority Whips and the Senate Majority and Minority Whips
In fiction
British Chief Whips have appeared in TV series such as '' House of Cards'', '' Yes Minister'', '' The New Statesman'' and '' The Thick of It''.
See also
* Whip (politics)
* The Public Whip
Notes
References
{{Downing Street
Ministerial offices in the United Kingdom
Political whips