The roles of the whips are secretive, but they appear to influence who sits on committees to question government ministers and having some say over who becomes chairman of the committee. They have too much power and too much say over what happens to MPs. Coercing, threatening or otherwise telling elected MPs how to vote should be outlawed. The notion of "whipping" members into the voting lobbies is yet another slap in the face of democracy and only benefits the party and executive branch.