AFTER the government's Chief Whip Wendy Morton reportedly resigned on October 19, it has since been revealed she will remain in post.
The long road of confusion for the Tories continues as it is believed she un-resigned less than a day later.
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?
Wendy Morton was appointed Chief Whip on 6 September 2022.
She was previously the Minister of State in the Department for Transport between 8 February 2022 to 6 September 2022.
Prior to that, Morton was a Parliamentary Under Secretary of State in the Department for Transport from December 2021.
It was reported on Wednesday, October 19, that the Chief Whip and Deputy Chief Whip, Craig Whittaker, had resigned from their prominent posts, mere hours after it was confirmed that Home Secretary Suella Braverman had left her station.
However, unlike Suella, it was later revealed that this wasn't the case, as Morton and Whittaker are in fact remaining in their roles.
The government released a statement which simply read: "Chief and deputy chief whip remain in post".
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.
To anyone familiar with the TV series, The Thick of It, that takes a comedic approach to the day-to-day goings on of a Chief Whip's duties.
How many do the Tories have?
As of 10 January 2018, the Conservative Government Whips in the Commons are:
Chief Whip (Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury)
Deputy Chief Whip (Treasurer of HM Household)
Whip (Comptroller of HM Household)
Whip (Vice Chamberlain of HM Household)
Whips (Lords Commissioners of the Treasury)
- Rebecca Harris MP
- Michael Tomlinson MP
- Alan Mak MP
- Lee Rowley MP
- Amanda Solloway MP
- Craig Whittaker MP
Assistant Whips
- Scott Man MP
- David TC Davies MP
- James Cartlidge MP
- Heather Wheeler MP
- Andrea Jenkyns MP
- Steve Double MP
- Gareth Johnson MP
