What is a party whip, what is their role in politics and when is the whip withdrawn? All political parties have whips, and it is their role to make sure MPs toe the line in Parliament

Whips are politicians appointed by each party to ensure MPs toe the line and maintain discipline in legislature. According to the UK Parliament website, they “help organise their party’s contribution to parliamentary business”.

The key responsibility a party whip has is to make sure the maximum number of their party members vote – and, crucially, vote the way their party wants.

Each party appoints a team of MPs as whips, and each of the two main parties – currently, the Conservatives and Labour as Government and Opposition – will have around 14 in their whips’ office. The smaller the party, the fewer whips it will have. Some might have just two or three. Lords also has small teams of whips, which operate separately.

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What do whips do day-to-day?

Whips frequently act as tellers, which means they count votes in divisions. Divisions are when members of both houses register their vote for or against an issue by physically going into two different areas of debating chambers.

Whips also manage the pairing system, where members both agree not to vote when other business (perhaps a select committee visit, or other specific responsibilities) prevents them from being at Westminster.

They are also largely responsible for arranging parliamentary business, which they do alongside the Leader of the House of Commons. When carrying out these duties, they are referred to as ‘the usual channels’.

What is ‘The Whip’?

Each week, whips send out a circular called ‘The Whip’. This goes out to their MPs (or Lords) and details parliamentary business and party plans.

The Whip pays special attention to divisions (votes on debates) and these are ranked in order of importance. Priority of each item noted is made known to MPs in quite a simple, if school-like way: by the number of times they are underlined.

What is a ‘three-line whip’ and when is ‘the whip withdrawn’?

As mentioned above, business mentioned in The Whip is underlined to rank its importance – a three-line whip means just that: it’s been underlined three times. These normally apply to major events like second readings of significant bills. Or perhaps the Commons is voting on going to war, for example, or whether to hold a referendum.

Defying a three-line whip is a very serious matter. Occasionally, going against the party policy can result in the whip being withdrawn from an MP or Lord, which means they are effectively expelled from their party. In these instances, members keep their seats but must sit as an independent until the whip is restored (it usually is).

Whips and small majority governments

The role of whips becomes more integral to keeping order within a party when the majority of the party in government is small (this applies to the Conservative party now, 2018). Whips must try to get their members to vote, and to vote in the way their party wants.

Of course, when a government is small, it has less overall control and it may be less likely the Commons votes in the way it wants.

Who is the Chief Whip?

The Chief Whip is responsible for administering the whipping system. Their job is to take charge of ensuring members attend votes in Parliament, and vote in the way their party desires. They help manage whips’ offices. There is also a deputy.

The Chief Whip position is held by an MP whose party is in government. Currently (as of August 2018) it is The Rt Hon Julian Smith MP, who was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury (Chief Whip) on 2 November 2017.