Who is the Government’s Chief Whip and what do they do?
RISHI SUNAK has appointed Simon Hart as his Chief Whip.
Former Chief Whip, Wendy Morton, resigned from the role following the appointment of Rishi Sunak as Prime Minister.
What is a whip?
Chief Whips (Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury) are in charge of discipline in Parliament by making sure their MPs toe the party line.
Day duties involve telling MPs how they should vote.
Dozens of votes happen in the Commons every week and often MPs have no idea what they're about.
Whips station themselves at the division lobbies to tell them how to vote.
But the shadowy side of the job involves squashing rebellions and strong-arming mutinous MPs back into line.
In the past whips kept a notorious "black book" filled with secrets to blackmail disloyal MPs.
While some still regard themselves as masters of the dark arts, most will publicly insist the days of dirty tricks are over - but some MPs would disagree.
Who is the Government's Chief Whip?
Simon Hart was appointed as Chief Whip of the House of Commons on October 25, 2022.
He formerly served as the Secretary of State for Wales, between 2019 and 2022.
The new Chief Whip became the MP for Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire in 2010.
He defeated the Labour MP, Nick Ainger, who had been the MP for that constituency since 1992.
Hart was re-elected to the post at the 2015, 2017, and 2019 General Elections.
In July 2019, Boris Johnson promoted Hart to Parliamentary Secretary at the Cabinet office.
He resigned as Secretary of State for Wales in July 2022, after writing a letter to Johnson.
The Chief Whip backed Rishi Sunak in both his Prime Ministerial campaigns.
What does the Chief Whip do?
As the PM's eyes and ears in the Commons, it falls to the Chief Whip to inform Downing St of any whiff of rebellion.
They also discuss with ministers the likelihood of a vote passing and marshall their junior whips to deliver the right outcome.
The Chief Whip also attends Cabinet.
For anyone familiar with the TV series, The Thick Of It, the BBC show takes a comedic approach to the Chief Whip's duties and role within government.
What other Whips do the Tories have?
As of October 2022, the Conservative Government Whips are as follows:
House of Commons
- Simon Hart MP
- Craig Whittaker MP
- Rebecca Harris MP
- Jo Churchill MP
- Amanda Solloway MP
Junior Lords of the Treasury
- David Evennett MP
- Amanda Solloway MP
- Nigel Huddleston MP
- Sarah Dines MP
- Adam Holloway MP
Assistant Whips
- Stuart Anderson MP
- Darren Henry MP
- Mark Jenkinson MP
- Damien Moore MP
- Joy Morrissey MP
- Lia Nici MP
- Jacob Young MP
House of Lords
- Baroness Williams of Trafford Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen at Arms (Lords Chief Whip)
- Earl of Courtown Captain of the Queen's Bodyguard of the Yeomen of the Guard (Lords Deputy Chief Whip)
Baronesses and Lords in Waiting
- Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist Baroness in Waiting
- Lord Davies of Gower Lord in Waiting Lord Harlech Lord in Waiting Viscount Younger of Leckie Lord in Waiting