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Greg Pope · 11-07-2006, 18:11

Just to clarify a couple of points. Firstly, there is no black book in the Government Whips Office. Legend has it that the Conservative whips had a black book in order to blackmail recalcitrant MPs into voting, but we have not got one. No-one has been suspended from the Commons by the whips - the only person with the power to suspend is the Speaker and would only do so if an MP behaved badly in the Chamber or was found to have breached the rules by, say, taking bribes.

A lot of votes in the Commons are not of mind-blowing importance (I'm sorry but it's true!) and MPs do most of their work in committees well away from the bits you see on TV, and the advice of whips is usually welcome. A 3 line whip means that you "have" to vote with your party, but I return to my previous point that there is little they can do to you if you refuse. And in any case, on the really important issues MPs should be able to stand for themselves in conversations with the whips - if they can't they are in the wrong job!

11-07-2006, 18:11	#28
Greg Pope Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 65 Liked: 0 times Rep Power: 0	Re: Keep Party Politics Out Of Government Just to clarify a couple of points. Firstly, there is no black book in the Government Whips Office. Legend has it that the Conservative whips had a black book in order to blackmail recalcitrant MPs into voting, but we have not got one. No-one has been suspended from the Commons by the whips - the only person with the power to suspend is the Speaker and would only do so if an MP behaved badly in the Chamber or was found to have breached the rules by, say, taking bribes. A lot of votes in the Commons are not of mind-blowing importance (I'm sorry but it's true!) and MPs do most of their work in committees well away from the bits you see on TV, and the advice of whips is usually welcome. A 3 line whip means that you "have" to vote with your party, but I return to my previous point that there is little they can do to you if you refuse. And in any case, on the really important issues MPs should be able to stand for themselves in conversations with the whips - if they can't they are in the wrong job!