What does it mean for MPs to ‘lose the whip’ in Parliament?
Andrew Bridgen has become the latest MP in the Commons to lose the whip after he compared the roll-out of COVID vaccines to the Holocaust.
But what does it mean to “lose the whip” when you are a politician?
And who else has faced the same fate in this Parliament?
What does it mean?
Losing the whip is one of the strongest punishments a political party can dole out to its MPs.
The move essentially expels the member from their party, meaning that while they can remain on the green benches, they have to sit as an independent MP.
The decision is officially taken by the chief whip – the MP in charge of party discipline, including making sure their members vote in line with the leadership’s wishes.
And the whip can be restored if the whip’s office deems it appropriate.
But without it, they are excluded from party activities and, at the following general election, may not be able to run for the party again.
Who has ‘lost the whip’?
Despite the severity of the punishment, it has happened several times since this Parliament began less than three years ago.
What follows is a list of the 20 MPs who have lost the whip in that time and what caused them to lose it. Some 15 of them remain sitting as independents:
Andrew Bridgen
The Conservative MP had the whip withdrawn in January 2023 after comparing the rollout of COVID vaccines to the Holocaust.
Chief whip Simon Hart said the North West Leicestershire politician had “crossed a line, causing great offence in the process”, and a formal investigation would take place.
Julian Knight
The Tory MP had the whip removed in December 2022 after allegations of serious sexual assault were made against him to the Metropolitan Police.
As well as being booted off the Conservative benches, the Solihull MP stepped down as chair of the digital, culture, media and sport committee.
But Mr Knight has said he is “entirely innocent of any wrongdoing whatsoever”.
Conor McGinn
Hours before Mr Knight was ejected from the Tory Party, Labour announced it was taking the whip away from St Helen’s North MP Conor McGinn.
The party said a formal complaint had been made against him, but did not reveal the nature of the complaint.
Matt Hancock
For former health secretary Matt Hancock, it was his decision to appear on ITV’s I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! that saw him lose the whip in November 2022.
A spokesman for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said “at a challenging time for the country, MPs should be working hard for their constituents” rather than appearing on reality TV.
But a source close to Mr Hancock insisted it was an “incredible opportunity” for an MP to engage with the public.
Christina Rees
In October 2022, Labour MP Christina Rees had the whip removed after a bullying allegation was made against her.
The former shadow Wales secretary, who represents the constituency of Neath in South Wales, said at the time she was “not aware of the details of the complaint” but was “fully cooperating with the investigation”.
In the meantime, she is sitting as an independent MP.
Christian Matheson
Labour suspended the whip from the City of Chester MP Christian Matheson in October 2022 after an independent panel upheld two allegations of sexual misconduct against him.
Mr Matheson apologised to the complainant for “the hurt I have caused”, but said he was “dismayed” to have been found guilty “of several allegations that I know to be untrue”.
Despite his protestations, he resigned his seat, triggering a by-election, which Labour won.
Rupa Huq
Labour MP Rupa Huq was suspended in the middle of her party’s annual conference in September 2022 after she told an audience that Tory chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng was “superficially” black.
Her leader, Sir Keir Starmer, condemned the comments as racist, and Ms Huq apologised for her “ill-judged” remarks – but she remains an independent MP.
Nick Brown
Earlier the same month, former Labour chief whip Nick Brown was suspended from the party pending an investigation.
A complaint was made against the Newcastle upon Tyne East MP, but the detail of the allegation is still unknown.
Tobias Ellwood
Tory former defence minister Tobias Ellwood lost the whip briefly in July 2022 as a punishment for failing to back the government in a confidence vote – but it wasn’t quite that straightforward.
The chair of the defence committee wasn’t protesting against then PM Boris Johnson, but was in Moldova meeting the country’s president.
He later had the whip restored and now sits again as a Tory MP.
Chris Pincher
The ousting of former deputy chief whip Chris Pincher ended up being the catalyst for the fall of Mr Johnson.
The Tamworth MP resigned from his post and had the whip removed over an allegation he drunkenly groped two men.
Mr Johnson was widely criticised for his handling of the accusations, which triggered mass resignations from his cabinet.
Mr Pincher remains a member of Parliament while an investigation is carried out.
Patrick Grady
The SNP withdrew the whip from Patrick Grady in June 2022 after he was found to have made an “unwanted sexual advance” to a member of party staff back in 2016.
Mr Grady was also ordered to make a public apology in the chamber and to say sorry privately to the person who complained.
He later had the whip restored, but the party’s then Westminster leader, Ian Blackford, came in for criticism over his handling of the case.
Neil Parish
Tory MP Neil Parish had the whip suspended by his party in April 2022 after two women MPs saw him watching pornography on his mobile phone on two separate occasions – once in the Commons chamber and another at a committee.
The Tiverton and Honiton MP initially said he opened the file by accident after looking at tractors online, but later admitted that he returned to the site, calling it “a moment of madness”.
Rather than wait for an investigation to conclude, Mr Parish resigned from Parliament, leading to a by-election in his seat – won by the Liberal Democrats.
David Warburton
Earlier in April 2022, Tory MP David Warburton had the whip withdrawn after being accused of sexual assault and drug use.
An investigation is taking place, but the Somerton and Frome MP remains in Parliament, and he says he has “enormous amounts of defence”.
Neil Coyle
Labour MP Neil Coyle had the whip suspended in February 2022 after allegations he made racist comments to a journalist on the parliamentary estate.
Mr Coyle, who has served as the MP for Bermondsey and Old Southwark since 2015, has apologised for his “insensitive” remarks.
An investigation is ongoing, and he was banned from the bars in Parliament.
Imran Ahmad Khan
In June 2021, it was revealed the Tory whip had been withdrawn from Imran Ahmad Khan, who was accused of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy.
The case went to court and he was found guilty. He resigned as an MP soon after in order to fight an appeal, but he lost that case as well.
A by-election was then called in his Wakefield seat and it was won back by Labour.
Rob Roberts
The whip was removed from Tory MP Rob Roberts in May 2021 after a complaints panel found he made repeated and unwanted sexual advances towards a male former member of staff.
He was suspended from Parliament for six weeks and by the party for 12 weeks, but still sits as an independent MP in the Commons.
Jeremy Corbyn
Labour MP Jeremy Corbyn was suspended from the party in October 2020 – just six months after stepping down as leader – over his response to a report about anti-Semitism among party members.
The Equalities and Human Rights Commission found Labour had broken the law with its handling of antisemitism complaints during the period when Mr Corbyn was in charge, accusing the leadership of “serious failings”.
But he claimed the scale of the problem was “dramatically overstated for political reasons”.
Although he was readmitted to the party, Sir Keir refused to allow him back into the parliamentary party, so he continues to sit as an independent MP.
Claudia Webbe
Labour MP for Leicester East, Claudia Webbe, had the whip removed in September 2020 after she was charged with harassing a woman, threatening to reveal naked pictures of her in a string of phone calls.
She was found guilty in November 2021 and appealed against her conviction, but lost the case in May 2022.
However, she remains as an independent MP in the Commons.
Jonathan Edwards
In May 2020, Plaid Cymru suspended the whip from Jonathan Edwards after he was arrested on suspicion of assault against his wife.
The Carmarthen East and Dinefwr MP accepted a police caution.
He was readmitted to the wider party in August 2022 to the anger of the party’s leader Adam Price, who called on him to step down as an MP.
Mr Edwards refused, but said he would not rejoin the Plaid Cymru group of MPs at Westminster to allow for a “period of calm reflection”.
Margaret Ferrier
The former SNP member Margaret Ferrier had the whip suspended in September 2020 after travelling to London with COVID symptoms and heading back to Scotland by train after testing positive.
The rules at the time meant she should have immediately self-isolated, and she was later charged with “reckless conduct”.
She was told by a court to undertake a 270-hour community payback order.
World
Body of missing rabbi Zvi Kogan found in UAE – as Israeli PM says he was murdered in ‘antisemitic terror incident’
The COP29 climate talks have reached a last ditch deal on cash for developing countries, pulling the summit back from the brink of collapse after a group of countries stormed out of a negotiating room earlier.
The slew of deals finally signed off in the small hours of Sunday morning in Azerbaijan includes one that proved hardest of all – one about money.
Eventually the more than 190 countries in Baku agreed a target for richer polluting countries such as the UK, EU and Japan to drum up $300bn a year by 2035 to help poorer nations both curb and adapt to climate change.
It is a far cry from the $1.3trn experts say is needed, and from the $500bn that vulnerable countries like Uganda had said they would be willing to accept.
But in the end they were forced to, knowing they could not afford to live without it, nor wait until next year to try again, when a Donald Trump presidency would make things even harder.
Bolivia’s lead negotiator Diego Pacheco called it an “insult”, while the Marshall Islands’ Tina Stege said it was “not nearly enough, but it’s a start”.
UN climate chief Simon Stiell said: “This new finance goal is an insurance policy for humanity, amid worsening climate impacts hitting every country.
“No country got everything they wanted, and we leave Baku with a mountain of work still to do. So this is no time for victory laps.”
The funding deal was clinched more than 24 hours into overtime, and against what felt like all the odds.
The talks were rocked from the start by the incoming presidency of climate denier Mr Trump, the moment Argentina’s team were recalled back to Buenos Aires by their right-wing president and a controversial letter that sent shockwaves through the United Nations.
Pic: AP
The fraught two weeks of negotiations pitted the anger of developing countries who are footing the bill for more dangerous weather that they did little to cause, against the tight public finances of rich countries.
A relieved Juan Carlos Monterrey Gomez, climate envoy for Panama, said there is “light at the end of the tunnel”.
Just hours ago, the talks almost fell apart as furious vulnerable nations stormed out of negotiations in frustration over that elusive funding goal.
They were also angry with oil and gas producing countries, who stood accused of trying to dilute aspects of the deal on cutting fossil fuels.
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Climate-vulnerable nations storm out of talks
The UN talks work on consensus, meaning everyone has to agree for a deal to fly.
A row over how to follow up on last year’s pledge to “transition away from fossil fuels” was left unresolved and punted into next year, following objections from Chile and Switzerland for being too weak.
A draft deal simply “reaffirmed” the commitment but did not dial up the pressure in the way the UK, EU, island states and many others here wanted.
Saudi Arabia fought the hardest against any step forward on cutting fossil fuels, the primary cause of climate change that is intensifying floods, drought and fires around the world.
Governments did manage to strike a deal on carbon markets at COP29, which has been 10 years in the making and will allow countries to trade emissions cuts.
‘Not everything we wanted’
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The UK’s energy secretary, Ed Miliband, said the deal is “not everything we or others wanted”, but described it as a “step forward”.
“It’s a deal that will drive forward the clean energy transition, which is essential for jobs and growth in Britain and for protecting us all against the worsening climate crisis,” he added.
“Today’s agreement sends the signal that the clean energy transition is unstoppable.
“It is the biggest economic opportunity of the 21st century and through our championing of it we can help crowd in private investment.”
Protesters at the summit in Baku. Pic: AP
Read more:
Azerbaijan president hails oil and gas as ‘gift from God’
UN climate summits ‘no longer fit for purpose’
The Azerbaijan team leading COP29 said: “Every hour of the day, we have pulled people together. Every inch of the way, we have pushed for the highest common denominator.
“We have faced geopolitical headwinds and made every effort to be an honest broker for all sides.”
At least 20 people have been killed and 66 injured in Israeli strikes on central Beirut, Lebanese authorities have said.
Lebanon‘s health ministry said the death toll could rise as emergency workers dig through the rubble looking for survivors. DNA tests are being used to identify the victims, the ministry added.
The attack destroyed an eight-storey residential building and badly damaged several others around it in the Basta neighbourhood at 4am (2am UK time) on Saturday.
The central Basta neighbourhood in Beirut
The Israeli military did not warn residents to evacuate before the attack and has not commented on the casualties.
At least four bombs were dropped in the attack – the fourth targeting the city centre this week.
A separate drone strike in the southern port city of Tyre this morning killed two people and injured three, according to the state-run National News Agency.
The victims were Palestinian refugees from the nearby al Rashidieh camp who were out fishing, according to Mohammed Bikai, spokesperson for the Fatah Palestinian faction in the Tyre area.
Israel’s military warned residents today in parts of Beirut’s southern suburbs that they were near Hezbollah facilities, which the army would target in the near future. The warning, posted on X, told people to evacuate at least 500 metres away.
The army said that over the past day it had conducted intelligence-based strikes on Hezbollah targets in Dahiyeh, in Beirut’s southern suburbs, where Hezbollah has a strong presence. It said it hit several command centres and weapons storage facilities.
Pic: AP
Israel has killed several Hezbollah leaders in air strikes on the capital’s southern suburbs.
Heavy fighting between Israel and Hezbollah is ongoing in southern Lebanon, as Israeli forces push deeper into the country since launching a major offensive in September.
According to the Lebanese health ministry, at least 3,670 people have been killed in Israeli attacks there, with more than 15,400 wounded.
It has displaced about 1.2 million people – a quarter of Lebanon’s population – while Israel says about 90 soldiers and nearly 50 civilians have been killed in northern Israel.
Read more:
No 10 indicates Netanyahu would be arrested
‘Dozens’ of Palestinians killed in Israeli airstrike
Meanwhile, six people, including three children and two women, were killed in the southern Gazan city of Khan Younis.
Some 44,176 Palestinians have been killed since the start of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, according to the Gaza health ministry.
The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count, but it has said that more than half of the fatalities are women and children.
The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on 7 October 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking another 250 hostage.
US envoy Amos Hochstein was in the region this week to try to end more than 13 months of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, ignited last October by the war in Gaza.
Mr Hochstein indicated progress had been made after meetings in Beirut on Tuesday and Wednesday, before going to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and defence minister Israel Katz.
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