Theres very little actual whipping done in the Whips Office in the House of Commons.
Former Chief Whip, Rosie Winterton, did have a carriage whip on the wall of her office but to the best of my knowledge it was seldom applied to recalcitrant backbenchers – no matter how much they asked for it.
As those with an axe to grind are talking up the prospect of a major rebellion from the government backbenches, they need to be aware of just exactly how much power does reside in those offices just off the Members’ Lobby.
There is no doubt that some of the government’s actions in respect of a benefits bill that is spiralling so far out of control that it has more than a little chance of bankrupting the nation.
To tighten the welfare eligibility thresholds is not just something that GB News has been calling for since it burst on to the airways but is a necessary corrective that anyone with even a basic grasp of economics will see as long overdue.
There are however some MPs – mostly from Labour and the Liberals – who feel that the duty of the state is to give certain self-selecting citizens absolutely everything that they want in terms of financial and housing support and to throw in a brand-new top of the range mobility vehicle on top.
There is no chance of government collapse - even with a backbench rebellion - Stephen Pound
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The problem with this indiscriminate largess is that it is utterly unsustainable fiscally and – possibly even more importantly – it detracts from those who are in real need and demeans those who the state absolutely should be supporting.
Surely any sane person would agree that the state should be doing all that it can to encourage people who can into employment and giving medical and financial support to those who simply cannot work.
So, what of the great rebellion?
There are plenty of people who want to see the government fall and they will be rubbing their hands at the prospect of such a collapse.
I’m afraid to have to tell them that it simply is not going to happen.
There will, of course, be opposition from those few who are happy to be elected on the Labour ticket but suffer from the delusion that they are bigger than the party and can pick and choose when to support it.
There are some occasions when you simply must defy the whip.
I did so on a few occasions and my conscience is clear.
The issue of passports for Gurkhas was a no brainer for me.
I well remember one of the whips coming over to me in the Tea Room and stubbing his cigarette out on my bacon sandwich in what he thought was a manner sufficiently threatening to win my support for a wrongheaded and unpatriotic policy.
Dennis Skinner had much to say on MPs enjoying overseas trips.
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When that didn’t work, he dangled the prospect of a juicy overseas trip before me.
Dennis Skinner always used to say that it was surprising that no one wanted to make a winter trip to visit fish canning factories in Iceland, but half the House of Commons was gagging to get to the Maldives to study the effect of global warming on coastal erosion.
As there were, and are, numerous organisations as well as the Inter-Parliamentary Union and the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association only too happy to send us off to far flung parts then the carrot proffered by the whips when the stick failed was equally ineffective.
The one thing that can change the rebel mind is an appeal to loyalty.
This used to be the secret weapon of the Conservative Party in distant days.
It still does have a powerful appeal and when combined with the “payroll” vote and a few weak-kneed abstainers this will be more than sufficient to see off any significant rebellion.
The debate, however, must continue without the landscape being cluttered up by prima donnas writing cheques with their mouths that the government wallet can’t cash.
