the.com/chief whip
The MP whose job is counting loyalty and crushing dissent before breakfast.
means The senior party official in a parliament who enforces discipline, ensures MPs show up to vote the party line, and manages the whole party's legislative strategy.
from From the old foxhunting term 'whipper-in,' the rider whose job was to crack the whip and keep the hounds from straying off from the pack. British politicians borrowed the image in the 1700s for the party enforcer who keeps members from straying off-message — a sport metaphor that outlived the sport, at least in Westminster usage.
- origin
- named after whipper-in, who kept hunting dogs in line
- core job
- enforces party discipline in parliamentary votes
- leverage
- controls promotions, so rebellion costs careers
- secrecy
- keeps a private book of MPs' dirty secrets