Will Cameron have the guts to offer his MPs a free vote on Syria?

[sgtkate]

The reason that the question of the Labour whip was making headlines was that shadow ministers were threatening to resign over it. Government ministers were not, so it was not an issue. I can remember plenty of new stories about Conservative MPs defying their whip.

 

Unless it's a confidence matter (an issue which would force the PM to resign) a whipped vote is not an existential matter for the government and small rebellions by back-bench MPs are common and tolerated.

Ministers and most especially cabinet ministers are not allowed to defy the whip, it's a matter of collective responsibility. If an MP who is also a Minister or perhaps a PPS wants to vote against the government, they have to resign from the government first and become a back-bencher.

 

The same conventions apply to the opposition and the shadow ministers.

 

The reason so much fuss was made about this is that shadow ministers were determined to vote against the Labour whip and were prepared to resign in order to do so. In the end Corbyn reluctantly allowed a free vote so that shadow ministers could defy him without resigning first.

 

Have you not considered that the Tories may have had the same issue but the media just didn't report it? And that Tories ministers might have been scared of being sacked if they defied the leadership? It's worth considering.

[unbeliever]

Have you not considered that the Tories may have had the same issue but the media just didn't report it? And that Tories ministers might have been scared of being sacked if they defied the leadership? It's worth considering.

 

 

It's not impossible, but there was at least 1 resignation from the government in the last parliament by an MP who was also a PPS and wanted to vote against the whip. That was covered by the press.

 

Multiple ministers or shadow ministers stating that that they will resign in order to vote against their whip is extremely unusual. I don't think it's happened since John Major was PM. It was very big, front page news at the time.

Let's not forget that at least one of the Labour rebels was a shadow cabinet minister, Hilary Benn, who is notionally part of the inner circle of the leader of the opposition. It would have been astonishing if the press had not been all over this matter.

[sgtkate]

It's not impossible, but there was at least 1 resignation from the government in the last parliament by an MP who was also a PPS and wanted to vote against the whip. That was covered by the press.

 

Multiple ministers or shadow ministers stating that that they will resign in order to vote against their whip is extremely unusual. I don't think it's happened since John Major was PM. It was very big, front page news at the time.

Let's not forget that at least one of the Labour rebels was a shadow cabinet minister, Hilary Benn, who is notionally part of the inner circle of the leader of the opposition. It would have been astonishing if the press had not been all over this matter.

 

Yeah, fair point. Perhaps wishful thinking on my part!

[cressida]

.... as they will now likely suffer consequences for not towing the line.

 

imo that's wrong, MPs should vote for what they believe in, the Whip is outdated now and tantamount to bullying

 

Cameron should have allowed a free vote and then been on an equal footing with Corbyn