Guide

Guides for MPs Staff

Whips and Their Work

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Whips have long had a reputation, whether deserved or not, which shrouds them and their work in mystery.  They blend into the crowd and appear to the outsider unobtrusive, the convention being that Government whips do not sign EDMs or table questions to Ministers.  Nor do they give media interviews in their capacity as whip; in fact, most of the general public remain blissfully unaware of their existence.  It all builds up to a shadowy reputation of concern with only the most lofty and secretive goings on of the House.  This Guide is designed for new Researchers and constituency staff to be able to confidently use the word ‘whip’ in everyday conversation – which is, after all, one of the benefits of a job in politics.

Index

  1. Who are the Whips?
  2. But really, who are they?
  3. The role of the Whips
  4. Party discipline
  5. Withdrawal and resignation of the whip
  6. Free votes
  7. The Whip 
  8. Whips in the House of Lords
  9. References and suggested further reading

 

1.  Who are the Whips?

‘Keepers of parliament’s dark secrets and custodians of the baubles of public life’ – Jeremy Paxman

Any parliamentary textbook will tell you that the term ‘whip’ is derived from hunting speak; a ‘whipper-in’ whips the hounds to keep them from straying from the pack.  It is thought that the use of the term in Parliament goes back to the 18th Century, describing a small group of MPs whose responsibility it is to keep their colleagues toeing the line.

Whips are generally appointed, rather than elected, within their parties; after all, they are charged with promoting the agenda of the leadership, not the backbenchers.  Each party leader chooses their Chief Whip, each Chief Whip then chooses his or her deputies.

The job of Government whips is to get the government’s business through the Parliament by making sure that the necessary votes are won.  The Opposition doesn’t have any legislation to get through but their job is to make sure that the Leader’s agenda is effectively supported.  Whips often describe themselves as a channel of communication between the leadership and the backbenchers, because it is their job to know in advance if anyone is going to vote the ‘wrong’ way –  they need to have their feelers out and develop good relations with their flocks, and put them in touch with the relevant minister to discuss concerns before they turn into rebellions.

There is also a strong organisational and procedural element to whip-hood: whips manage Bill Committees and some private business like ten minute rule bills as well as party campaigning.

A who’s who of current whips can be found on the parliament.uk site under MPs, Lords and Offices, Government are here under the list of Treasury ministers, which is technically their department, Opposition here under Opposition Whips.

The Opposition Chief Whip receives a stipend in addition to his normal salary.  The Government Chief Whip (and all junior government whips), of course, receive an extra ministerial salary as do all government ministers.

2.  But really, who are they?

In their article on the recruitment of whips in the House of Commons, Donald Searing and Chris Game seek to identify some common psychological characteristics of those appointed to the post of whip.  By asking those who’ve held the post, they conclude that whips must be approachable and good listeners and, where possible, should be able to ‘exercise some authority without getting into too much of a row’.  They must also of course be staunch party loyalists, and – perhaps surprisingly – need to know how to remain calm; ‘good whips rarely lose their tempers,’ one of their interviewees told Searing and Game.  Tim Renton, Government Chief Whip during Thatcher’s final year, echoes this sentiment: ‘a good whip is not just a sergeant major.  He is also a counsellor and a nanny.  Giving tea to some and gin and tonic to others, the Chief Whip has an overall responsibility for the health and sanity of his flock.’

3.  The Role of the Whips

The ‘usual channels’ is a phrase you’ll hear now and again.  Put simply, it means the ways in which Whips of all parties decide between them how to organise the Business of the House.  Although regular meetings take place to discuss Business, the usual channels are mostly a huge spider-web of communication on which the day-to-day bread and butter of the parliamentary timetable rests.  Ongoing matters will be discussed and on particular issues, such as a piece of legislation, consultation between whips from all sides will end with deals being struck in an attempt to please all.  Until 2010, select committee makeup was discussed and decided via the usual channels but, in the pursuit of transparency, chairs of select committees are now elected by ballot of the whole House. Members are then elected by their parties.

Besides deciding how the Business of the House will run, the other important job of the Whip is to act as go-between for the party’s leadership and its backbenchers.  In order to get government Business through, the Government Whips must ensure that the wishes of the leadership are carried out.  Practically, they have to make sure their MPs attend important votes and, crucially, get them into the right lobby.  At the same time, they must report back to the party leader whether or not new proposals are likely to go down well with the main body of their Members, and if and where pockets of dissent might be brewing.  On top of all this, the Whips must maintain links between Government and opposition (via the usual channels).  It’s no wonder that Whips have a reputation for quiet omniscience.

4.  Party discipline

‘For the average backbencher, the whip is the street-corner thug they need to get past on their way home from school.  Treat him with respect, and life will be fine.  If you cross him, watch out’ – Jeremy Paxman

It’s the role of the whip as disciplinarian which tends to attract the most attention, as Rogers and Walter note, ‘much is written and more speculated about the black arts of the whips – their techniques for bringing recalcitrant MPs into line – and of their intelligence gathering’.  There are numerous stories bouncing around the Palace of Westminster of the tactics whips will use to influence backbenchers to vote duly.  Philip Cowley writes how rumour has it that in past years there existed a Conservative whips’ ‘Black Book’, detailing the financial and sexual misdemeanours of the party’s MPs, used for arm twisting purposes as and when necessary.  Speaking in a 1997 debate on the modernisation of the House of Commons, the then MP for Bassetlaw, Joe Ashton, recalled an extreme example of the lengths whips will go to to get their MPs through the lobbies when it really matters:

“I remember the famous case of Leslie Spriggs, the then member for St Helens.  We had a tied vote and he was brought to the House in an ambulance having suffered a severe heart attack.  The two whips went out to look in the ambulance and there was Leslie Spriggs laid there as though he was dead.  I believe that John Stradling Thomas said to Joe Harper, “how do we know that he is alive?” So he leaned forward, turned the knob on the heart machine, the green light went around and he said, “there – you’ve lost, it’s 311.”  That is an absolutely true story.  It is the sort of nonsense that used to happen.  No one believes it, but it is true.” – Joe Ashton, former MP for Bassetlaw.

Whips may of course use the carrot approach, as well as wielding the stick, offering time off, trips abroad and promises of promotion.  The Whips are also responsible for deciding who gets which office on the parliamentary estate.  The accommodation whips have an arcane negotiation to divvy up the rooms between Labour, Tories, Lib Dems, etc and then each party has its own internal way of allocating.  It’s not unknown for the whips to use accommodation and the threat of being moved from a reasonable office to a window-less demountable to encourage party discipline.  Says Tim Renton, ‘the ability of the whips to change the minds of their colleagues lies in the fact that they wheel and cajole quietly and behind the scenes.’  However, Philip Cowley reports that there was once, among the Labour whips, what one whip described as a ‘tradition of brutalism’, to the extent that one new whip, on being told to use cerebral powers of persuasion instead had complained, ‘does that mean we can’t beat people up any more?’  Yet most methods of persuasion will be of the subtle type and stories like those above have thankfully become few and far between.

5.  Withdrawal and resignation of the whip

Most MPs, most of the time, pose no trouble for their party’s whips.  However, issues of discipline arise from time to time, on a scale from an individual MP’s doubts over a prickly issue to a large scale revolt among backbenchers.  At the extreme end of the scale, when an MP disagrees with the action of his or her party, he or she may ‘resign’ the whip – in other words, leave the parliamentary party and be no longer subject to its rules.  Similarly, if an MP elicits extreme disapproval of their party’s leadership, the party leader may ‘withdraw’ the whip, expelling the MP.  In both cases, the MPs remain in post but become effectively independent, no longer expected to follow the whip.  Aside from rebellion, personal actions or comment may cause an MP to resign the whip or have it withdrawn.  The decision to go to war in Iraq generated a number of such political casualties, with Clare Short and Robin Cook both resigning the whip in protest and with George Galloway having the whip withdrawn after making comments to the press deemed to have brought the party into disrepute.  More recently, former minister Denis McShane had the Labour whip withdrawn following a referral from the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards to the police.  Another punishment the party leadership might use is to temporarily suspend a disobedient MP, possibly in advance of a full expulsion.  Yes, it’s just like being back in school.

6.  Free votes

In some instances, the whip is removed from all of a party’s MPs before a vote and MPs are allowed to vote as they see fit.  Such votes are called ‘free votes’ and a party’s whips will usually decide to grant a free vote if the issue at hand is one of a matter of conscience – abortion, euthanasia, capital punishment and so on.  In 2008, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill eventually generated a series of free votes for all parties, with the Government backing down from a whipped vote at Second Reading to allow a free vote, then insisting on the whip at Third Reading.

7.  The Whip

An essential tool of communication between each Whips Office and its MPs, the Whip will drop into your inbox every Thursday, once the Business of the House is announced.

The Whip is the essential (and confidential) document your MP needs to be in the voting lobbies at the right time, in order to avoid incurring the wrath of your party’s whips.  The Whip tells MPs how important their presence at a particular vote is, by using a three line system.  All votes are listed on The Whip and underlined with either one, two or three lines.

One line means that attendance is requested at the vote, but not required.  In practical terms, a one-liner means don’t worry about it.

Two lines is used quite rarely – it means you should be there but it’s not quite a three liner.  In practical terms, it might be used when a free vote is being held – meaning, we don’t mind how you vote, but please turn up.

A three-line Whip is essential and an MP frankly has no choice but to attend unless he or she has cleared their absence with their whip in advance by handing in an absence request slip with a full explanation and a pleading manner.

It’s keeping the weekly Whip to hand.  If your boss is so inclined, you might want to enter the expected timing and details of votes in his or her diary, though this is subject to change with votes occasionally being upgraded or downgraded at short notice.  Knowing what’s on the weekly whip is also helpful in that it allows you to organise the diary around expected votes and if your boss is attending an event on the Estate, you can warn the organisers that he or she may suddenly dash off when a loud, rather excruciating bell starts ringing.

It is common practice, if an MP needs to miss a vote, that the Whips will organise between themselves to ‘pair’ that MP with an MP of another party voting the opposite way, thus cancelling each other out.  This system means that MPs, especially Ministers who may be busy or outside of London, can miss votes without upsetting the outcome.  This allows, for example, MPs to be absent for important family or constituency events, or a minister to take an overseas trip.  Of course, for votes expected to be very close or contentious, the gloves come off.

8.  Whips in the House of Lords

Whips are used in the House of Lords but their role differs slightly, party discipline being a more complex issue due to a lack of elections and a substantial number of non-aligned cross-benchers.

They have their own website – www.lordswhips.org.uk – which Peers can use to remotely-access information, and sign up to speak in debates, without actually having to visit the House.

9. References and suggested further reading

List of current MPs elected to Parliament following the 2024 General Election

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A simple list of all the MPs currently elected to Parliament is available on the public website:
https://members.parliament.uk/members/commons and you can search by name or by constituency.  If you need to update your Member’s details, please email membersbiogs@parliament.uk

There is a much more detailed facility available on the Parliamentary intranet – the Members Names Information Service (MNIS) is a House database which lists Members details for the Commons and Lords.

It gives an overview of the current state of the parties, lists of current and previous members, includes biographical information, the register of Commons and of Lords Interests and includes a list of staff employed in the Lords.  You should also contact MNIS to update your Member’s or Peer’s biography pages (email membersbiogs@parliament.uk)

You can also view the Library’s research paper Members 1979-2010, which lists all of the Members during that time period in alphabetical order, and includes brief biographical details.

Downloadable lists of contact details for MPs and Peers

Those on the intranet should also visit the Commons Library site and check out Dods People (just look in the A-Z listing) which gives a full bio of each MP and a profile of their constituency.  It also allows you to export a CSV of the contact details of all MPs, MSPs, AMs, MLAs and Peers.

‘Servants of the House’ – what the Clerks do

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The following article by Robert Rogers – The Right Honourable The Lord Lisvane KCB DL, former Clerk of of the House of Commons, first appeared in The House Magazine on 6 June 2005 and we published it here at that time.

Robert Rogers has kindly updated the article and it is now republished here with their agreement.  References were updated in April 2020.

Servants of the House

Don’t be daunted by the staff in the Department of Chamber and Committee Services, says Robert Rogers
 – their guidance and advice are often indispensable.

Clerks at the Table

The Clerk of the House, the Clerk Assistant and the Principal Clerk of the Table Office sit at the Table of the House during question time each day.

In the Chamber the Clerks’ principal functions are to advise the Chair and to record the House’s decisions. They may also be consulted on any aspect of the House’s business by any Member, either in the chamber or elsewhere. Their offices are in the corridor behind the Speaker’s chair. All Clerks, in all offices, advise Members with absolute impartiality, and always in confidence.

Table Office

The Table Office, situated behind the Speaker’s chair, is the first port of call for any Member seeking advice on tabling questions or early day motions. On sitting days, the office is open as follows:

  • Monday –  10.00am until 10.30pm or the Rise of the House
  • Tuesday – 9.00am until 7.30pm or the Rise of the House
  • Wednesday – 9.00am until 7.30pm or the Rise of the House
  • Thursday – 9.00am until 5.30pm or the Rise of the House
  • Friday (Sitting) –  9.00am until 3.00pm or the Rise of the House
  • Friday (Non-Sitting) – 11.00am until 3.00pm

Members who want to table oral questions, written questions or motions, should take them to the Table Office, post them (signed), or submit them using the Member Hub.  The Clerks in the office help Members bring draft questions and motions within the rules of the House.  They can also advise how best to frame a question in order to elicit particular information.  The office can also assist when a government department is next due to answer oral questions, and on the deadlines for tabling questions in time for the ‘shuffle’ – the random selection of questions to be printed on the order paper. Clerks deal with a range of other procedural queries, either on the spot or by identifying the appropriate specialist in another office.  All Members – especially new Members – are encouraged to visit the office; telephone (exts 3302, 3305 or 3751) or email: tableoffice@parliament.uk

Public and Private Bill Offices

The Public Bill Office and the Private Bill Office provide advice about Bills – private Members’ Bills as well as Government Bills – and about Public Bill Committees, which deal with the detailed clause-by-clause consideration of Bills, and general committees which debate a variety of other business.

Contact Details:

The Public and Private Bill Offices are both located on the third floor above the Chamber.

Amendments to Bills, at both the Committee Stage and the subsequent Report Stage on the floor of the House, are tabled in the office.  An amendment may be handed in by a Member or by someone properly authorised to act for the Member; but if the Member has signed the amendment anyone may hand it in.  Each Bill has a particular Clerk looking after it, who can help Members with the drafting of amendments, and may be able to suggest changes which improve an amendment’s chance of being selected for debate.

One of the Clerks in the office deals with Private Members’ Bills.  There are three ways in which a private Member can bring in a Bill:

  • through the ballot held at the start of each session, which enables the 20 Members who are successful to set their Bill down for debate on one of the 13 Fridays available;
  • through the ‘ten-minute rule’, which provides an opportunity each Tuesday and Wednesday for a Member to make a speech in support of the Bill he or she seeks leave to introduce;
  • or by simply presenting a Bill ‘at the back of the chair’.  The Clerk of Private Members’ Bills can help Members draft a short title for their Bill, a long title (descriptive of the Bill’s purpose), and in due course advise on the text of the Bill.

Another Clerk deals with private and hybrid Bills, such as the recent Bill to authorise the construction of the Crossrail link through London.  In addition to Public Bill Committees, the office provides Clerks for committees on delegated legislation, which debate the merits of government orders and regulations; for European standing committees, which debate proposed EU legislation; and for the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Ireland grand committees.  The Public Bill Office also has general responsibility for the conduct of divisions in the House.  If a mistake is made in recording Members’ names, please let us know.

The Journal Office

The Journal Office (also on the third floor above the Chamber) compiles the legal record of the House’s decisions and all papers laid before it. It undertakes procedural research, and supports the Committee on Standards and Privileges and select committees dealing with procedural matters. Most of its advice to Members is in two areas: the Clerk of the Journals (ext 3315) advises on parliamentary privilege and its application in particular cases; and petitions for presentation to the House should be seen beforehand by the Clerk of Public Petitions (ext 3317).  It is a good idea to take her advice before the collecting of signatures begins!

More by Robert Rogers……If you want a readable, layman’s guide to how the place works, we recommend How Parliament Works by Nicolas Besly, Tom Goldsmith, Robert Rogers and Rhodri H. Walters (Routledge, 8th edition, £37.99).  Written by Clerks in both the Commons and the Lords, the book is available from the publishers: https://www.routledge.com/How-Parliament-Works/Besly-Goldsmith-Rogers-Walters/p/book/9780815369646

“When the British constitution is in such flux, describing today’s Parliament might seem like drawing on water. But in this almost entirely rewritten account Robert Rogers and Rhodri Walters have achieved the near-impossible: it is clear, elegant, invaluable, bang up to date, and full of dry wit.”
Andrew Marr, Political Editor, BBC

How to arrange Gallery Tickets

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Details about access to the Commons Galleries are on ParliNet
https://parlinet.parliament.uk/on-the-estate/access-estate/restrictions/access-to-the-commons-galleries/ or on the Parliament website for the general public
https://www.parliament.uk/visiting/visiting-and-tours/watch-committees-and-debates/

Tickets can only be booked via a Member’s Office.  Members of the public cannot book tickets themselves.

Question Time takes place from Mondays to Thursdays (2.30pm on Mondays, 11.30am on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, followed by Prime Minister’s Questions, and at 9.30am on Thursdays).

PMQs (Prime Minister’s Questions) take place every Wednesday from midday for half an hour.  Tickets are normally highly sought-after and constituents love coming up to experience the Westminster action, (especially if they live close to London).  They are usually fully booked several months in advance.  Each Member may request two PMQs tickets per month, dependent on availability. All requests are dealt with on a first come, first served basis.  Members’ staff also require a ticket to go into the gallery and these will come out of the two per month ticket allowance.

If a constituent wishes to watch a debate or question time, you will need to book or find tickets.  Make sure that you know what dates they would prefer, and warn them that if it is very short notice, that it might not be possible.  If you have a choice, pick the latest date, as it gives more time to obtain tickets and they are more likely to be available.

It is quite easy to get tickets for other days as long as you apply a long time in advance.  You can apply using the form on ParliNet.  Mondays are 2.30pm, Tuesdays and Wednesdays are 11.30am, Thursdays 9:30am and Fridays (if the house is sitting) 9:30am.  People understandably prefer PMQs but will sometimes be happy with normal departmental question time.  The Order of Questions can be found here: https://commonsbusiness.parliament.uk

You will need to fill in the full name and address of one of the people who will be using the tickets.

The Admissions Order Office (AOO) staff are very helpful, so if you need any assistance, give them a call on ext 3700.  They try to be as accommodating as possible within the rules.

If you’ve still been unable to get tickets for PMQs then it’s worth ringing in the morning and checking if they’ve had any handed back.  In theory you have to queue from 11am when unclaimed tickets are released (get there early) but if you ring up and are nice enough you can sometimes get them earlier in the day.  (If your MP is particularly keen to get tickets then they can also queue and will get priority over staff.)

It is also possible to put your name on a waiting list in the Admission Order Office from the Thursday before the relevant Question time, but this does not operate on Wednesdays.  Visitors can also always wait in the public queue but there’s absolutely no way they’ll get PMQs tickets this way, it is only likely to work for sittings later in the day or some of the less popular departmental questions and should not be relied upon.

If someone known to your MP would like tickets and they have run out then you can apply for seats in front of the security screen (which is also far more interesting as you get a better view and can hear what’s going on away from the microphones).  There aren’t many of these so you’ll need to check with the AOO that there is space and then download the form from here: Request for Special Side Gallery Tickets – In Front Of The Security Screen.   This form has to be signed by your MP and taken to the AOO personally by them.  This can take some doing and you will have to pester them repeatedly to make sure they do it (it’s worth checking with the AOO that it actually made it there after it left your office).

In addition, close family members of MPs can often use Speaker’s Allocation of tickets.  You’ll need to ring the Speaker’s Office on 020 7219 5300 to see if they are willing to do this and if they have any space.

Once you’ve managed to get tickets you can either pick them up from the AOO closer to the time, or give your constituents directions to do so themselves when they arrive.  Either way, you will need to ask the visitors to come to the Cromwell Green Visitors Entrance around 45 minutes before the Question Time begins, in order to allow for them to pass through the security checks.  They can then wait in Central Lobby and watch the Speaker’s Procession, when the Speaker and the mace – the symbol of the Queen in Parliament – make their way into the Chamber and which is pretty exciting for the first time.

Make sure the visitors have a contact number for your office (and that you have a contact number for them on the day) in case it all goes terribly wrong (when it does, don’t worry, you’re not the first, just grovel and do everything you can to put it right/make it less bad).

If you need it more information can be found on Parlinet.

If you are reading this and are a constituent who is interested in obtaining gallery tickets, contact your MP’s office directly.  Don’t know where to find it?  You can search here: https://members.parliament.uk/members/commons

Constituents can find further information on watching debates and committees here: https://www.parliament.uk/visiting/visiting-and-tours/watch-committees-and-debates/

You can also watch live feeds of debates and committee hearings on Parliament Live TV

List of Ministerial Responsibilities

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Government is big, with around 100 ministers in place at any one time, and it’s not always obvious who is responsible for what . I’m sure you already knew that the Minister for Plant and Tree Health is the Minister of State for Minister for Rural Affairs and
Biosecurity, but are Green Jobs DEFRA or BEIS?  Who is responsible for the Fire service?

The List of Ministerial Responsibilities explains exactly who is responsible for what; in general, ministers will only answer your correspondence if it relates to something listed here as being under their control; it’s fine to write to the Secretary of State but they will generally forward your letter to the relevant junior minister.

The list also gives phone numbers for the private offices and correspondence sections within departments.

It is available online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/government-ministers-and-responsibilities.

Be aware, however, that the list is not updated with every reshuffle and so you should check here to make sure that the person named is still the Minister: https://www.gov.uk/government/ministers

Parliamentary Digital Services (PDS)

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We really don’t need to tell you this but here goes anyway: getting your IT support right will make your life VERY MUCH EASIER.  First step is to know what is available.

Of course, this changes regularly so what you will read below is correct at the time of writing but it’s in your interests to check the PDS pages on the intranet for the latest information and advice.

  1. Introduction
  2. The Digital Support Desk
  3. Setting up a new account
  4. Logging in
  5. The equipment allowance
  6. Getting Broadband for your office
  7. Working away from the Estate
  8. Contact

1.  Introduction

Parliamentary Digital Services (PDS) is a bicameral service – i.e. it serves the IT requirements of both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, providing technology and intranet services to all Parliamentary users.

2.  The Digital Support Desk

The Digital Support Desk is committed to providing high quality customer service and technical support, whilst acting as a single point of contact for all Parliamentary Users.  The main aim of the Digital Support Desk is to provide rapid, effective resolutions, or escalation, for a wide variety of computer, network and telephone related problems and queries.

The Digital Support Desk’s aims are:

  • To ensure users are making the best use of the technology available to support their constituents or business function
  • To treat users with courtesy and deal with enquiries in a professional and efficient manner
  • To resolve problems as quickly as possible to ensure minimal disruption to the day to day work of users

You can contact the Digital Support Desk by the following means:

  • telephone: extension 2001
  • Digital Support online: accessible via the icon on your desktop, or here: https://parliament.service-now.com/sp.  The online system will allow you to view and track the progress of your request.  This is the best method to use for requesting new equipment or services.

When you call the Digital Support Desk, your call is logged with an individual reference number (which you should write down) and its progress is recorded on the Digital Support Desk system.  You’ll need to have the following details to hand:

  • Full Name / User name
  • Office / Department / Member’s name
  • Where you are located (constituency, or address within the Parliamentary Estate)
  • Contact details
  • Exact nature of problem (it is helpful to have the equipment in front of you so that you are able to give a clear explanation of the problem)
  • You may also need to provide your security pass number for certain enquiries

There are various techniques used by the analysts to try to resolve your problem.  This may include shadowing your computer, in other words remotely taking control of your computer.

In the event that your problem is not resolved by the analyst, it will be handed to one of the other specialist teams, who will either offer further technical advice over the telephone or visit your office if it is located on the Parliamentary Estate.  In extreme cases, if you are in the constituency, they may ask for your computer to be returned to Westminster for repair.

3.  Setting up a new account

New user accounts can be requested by the Members of both Houses or their designated proxies (often their Office Managers) or, in the case of House Staff, Line Managers (for example, when you’re setting up an account for an intern).  This can be done by via the digital portal https://parliament.service-now.com/sp and selecting the ‘order something’ option.

4.  Logging in

Your Member (or their proxy) or your Line Manager will be notified once your new account has been set up, and you will have to telephone the Digital Support Desk on x2001 to be talked through the process of activating it or logging in for the first time.  This takes only a few minutes.  Make sure that you have your security pass number to hand before you call.

5.  IT Equipment supplied by the Parliamentary Digital Service

Members and their staff are entitled to IT equipment loaned to them by Parliament for the duration of the Members’ term as an MP.

The equipment is provided to Members and their security-cleared staff only, and is for use for parliamentary work.

You can find full details here: https://parlinet.parliament.uk/services/order-set-up-return-equipment/computer-equipment/order-computer-equipment/house-of-commons-members/

6.  Getting Broadband for your Office

Parliament no longer provides broadband services to constituency and home offices.  Read more about it on ParliNet.

The equipment catalogue can be access from the PDS intranet pages under ‘Ordering Computer Equipment‘.

7.  Working away from the Estate – Services to Members of the House of Commons

Working remotely has never been so easy.  If you have a PDS-supplied laptop then simply connect to your Internet connection and off you go.  If you are using personal devices, Office 365 will allow you to  access any of the cloud-based apps and some of the Parliamentary Network remotely, although there are still some parts of the network which are unavailable at the time of writing.

Whilst it might be useful to access your work emails and calendar from home, consider whether your MP is likely to send you ‘a little something to look into’ on a Saturday afternoon.

Up-to-date information can be seen on ParliNet

8.  Contacts

Digital Service Customer Relations: https://parlinet.parliament.uk/teams/bicameral/parliamentary-digital-service/digital-customer-relations-team/

For constituency offices, the Local Engagement Team’s intranet page can be found here: Support for constituency offices – UK Parliament.

There’s a useful list of PDS contacts on ParliNet.

 

Petitions

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Presenting a petition to 10 Downing Street in person

Petitioning 10 Downing Street can be a simple and effective way of publicising a cause.

Presenting a petition to 10 Downing Street can provide an excellent photo opportunity and highlight a campaign in a way that could be attractive to your local press. It’s also a relatively simple thing to organise.  Please note, however, that the Prime Minister never meets petitioners – even if they are cute children or war veterans.

Please note petitions cannot be booked in for Tuesday or Wednesday before 2pm. They also require a minimum of ten clear working days’ notice from receipt of your application form to process the petition request.

Petitions may be delivered to 10 or 11 Downing Street on the following days:

Monday: 0900-1700
Tuesday: 1400-1700
Wednesday: 1400-1700
Thursday: 0900-1700
Fridays: 0900-1700
Saturday: 1000-1600
Sunday: 1000-1600

In the first instance, all petition requests go to have to go to the Downing Street Liaison Office.  Petition forms MUST reach the Downing Street Liaison Team office, allowing ten (10) working days, before the intended delivery date. The petition submission date and petition delivery date are not included in the 10 working days. Any name changes to the petition also require ten (10) full working days. Any changes inside the ten (10) days will be refused.

The application form can be found here.

Please complete the form and return it, remembering ten (10) working days to clear petition.
E-mail to: PaDPmailbox-DSLO@met.police.uk
Tel. No: 0203 276 2934 (answer phone) or 0203 276 2933

Please note the following:

No more than six (6) petitioners will be permitted entry to Downing Street. If a petitioner in the group requires the assistance of a carer, the carer will not count towards the six (6), but their details must be provided so the relevant checks can be completed.

No more than six (6) MP’s/Peers are allowed to enter with the petition and full details are required at time of application. This information must come from the lead petitioner/organiser. If MP’s/Peers turn up on the day without police being given prior warning, they will be refused entry. Please see the last page on the form to provide MP’s/Peers details if applicable.

Staff/interns of MP’s/Peers who attend will be refused entry, unless they are a named petitioners on the petition form.

Photographers, cameramen and other press do not have to be included in the six (6) petitioners, if they are in possession of a valid Press Card Authority photo ID – the UK Press Card Authority

No placards, banners, loud hailers or fancy dress or any props will be permitted. (National costume will not be excluded, although prior warning is required)

Please ensure all petitioners bring official photo-identity documentation, ie driving licence, passport or travel pass, when delivering their Petition to Downing Street. Photos / copies of driving licence/passports on mobiles are not accepted.

All petitioners will be subject to a search as a condition of entry into Downing Street.

For security reasons, the Prime Minister’s Office will not accept sealed petitions. Please ensure your  petition is delivered in an unsealed envelope or box.  No10 will no longer accept USB sticks with signatures.

Please include a return address within your petition, to enable Downing Street to send an acknowledgement.

Downing Street will only accept one 2500 sheet box of A4 paper at the door of No10. The remainder should be sent to 9 Howick Place, SW1P 1AA. Please address to No10, including the petition details/date on the outside of the boxes.

The Metropolitan Police will make every effort to facilitate arrangements to enable delivery of the petition; however, matters of State must take precedence.  As a result, alterations to booked arrangements can be made with short notice, in such cases, petitions may be delayed, accepted at the gate, or you may be offered an alternative appointment.

The Metropolitan Police recognise the importance of these events to petitioners and will endeavour to facilitate photography or film recording of the occasion where possible. You will have a maximum of 20 minutes in Downing Street for hand in and photo/media.

On the relevant day and time, attend the front gates of Downing Street and introduce yourself to the Police Officer on duty at the pedestrian gate. The officer will direct you and your party through security search prior to delivery of the petition.

Remember, your constituents have probably come a long way to petition the Prime Minister.  If you can, give them a short tour of the Palace and buy them a drink in the Terrace Cafeteria.  Make them feel they have had a day out!

e-Petitions

Any British Citizen or UK resident can start a petition, and you will need five other people to support the application.  Simply go to https://petition.parliament.uk/ and follow the instructions on that page.  There is an 80 character limit for the title of your petition and you need to be very clear what you are asking the Government to do.  Once you have submitted the title, the next page will ask you to provide further detail on what you want the Government or Parliament to do, and why you want them to do it.  You can find further information on how petitions work here: https://petition.parliament.uk/help#standards

Once your petition is live, you will be able to publicise it and anyone will be able to come to the website and sign it.  They will be asked to give their name and address and an email address that can be verified.  The system is designed to identify duplicate names and addresses, and will not allow someone to sign a petition more than once.  Anyone signing a petition will be sent an email asking them to click a link to confirm that they have signed the petition.  Once they have done this, their name will be added to the petition.

Your petition will show the total number of signatures received.  It will also display the names of signatories, unless they have opted not to be shown.

If a petition receives more than 10,000 signatures, then it will receive a response from the Government.  If it receives more than 100,000 signatures, then it will be considered for debate in the House of Commons.

Downing Street will email the petition organiser and everyone who has signed the petition via the website giving details of the Government’s response.

Ask your MP to present a public petition to Parliament

A public petition is a petition to the House of Commons presented by an MP.  Paper petitions cannot be presented by members of the public.  They must ask clearly for the House of Commons to take some action.  A petition cannot request a grant or charge, but it can ask for a change in policy.

There is detailed guidance on how to do this on the parliament website: https://www.parliament.uk/get-involved/sign-a-petition/paper-petitions/

One thing that page doesn’t tell you, is that the declaratory paragraph can only be one single sentence.  Many petitions get round this by using semicolons to separate out the different parts.  For example “This petition notes that xxx; further that yyy; and further that zzz“.

The Journal Office deals with paper petitions.  It is advisable to send the draft wording of your petition to the Clerk of Petitions before you start sending it out for signatures, so that they can check that the wording is correct.  The Clerk of Petitions is really helpful and can help you to draft something, but please do bring a draft of your own for them to work on, don’t expect them to write it from scratch for you.  It’s better to do this, than to get lots of signatures and then have the petition rejected because the wording is not ‘orderly’.  The Clerk can also send you a template to work with.

The petition can be presented in one of two ways.  If your MP would like some publicity for the petition, then they can present it on the floor of the House.  Alternatively, a petition can be ‘bagged’ – where it is simply placed in the bag behind the Speaker’s Chair; this method can be useful if the MP doesn’t wish to publicise it.  Please make sure that you let the Clerk know if you intend to bag a petition.

Once a Public Petition has been accepted, it will be printed in Hansard, as will the Government’s response once it has been issued.

Guide to All Party Parliamentary Groups (APPGs)

Standard

Index

  1. Introduction
  2. Registering a Group
  3. Notifying changes
  4. Administration of Groups
  5. Membership of Groups
  6. Meetings

1. Introduction

All Party Parliamentary Groups (APPGs) are essentially groups with cross-party membership of MPs and Peers, which meet to discuss, campaign on and promote a certain issue.  MPs often find that forming and chairing an APPG can be an effective part of a parliamentary campaign, as it can act as an extra vehicle with which to spread awareness of the issue within parliament and as a springboard to events and publicity.  Chairmanship of a prominent group can occasionally give serious status to the holder; the Chair of the APPG for Beer and Pubs was known informally for some years as the Minister for Fun.

There are hundreds of All Party Groups, covering almost every interest and issue you could imagine, and ranging in scope from the niche APPG for Parkrun to the huge APPG for Africa.

All groups must be properly registered with the Registrar’s Office and listed on the register, which is updated roughly every 6 weeks when the Commons is sitting.  You can see the current Register here: https://www.parliament.uk/mps-lords-and-offices/standards-and-financial-interests/parliamentary-commissioner-for-standards/registers-of-interests/register-of-all-party-party-parliamentary-groups/

Despite their usefulness, APPGs are relatively informal compared with other cross-party bodies such as Select Committees of the House, (whose membership is decided by election, who are staffed through the Clerks’ Office and whose Chairs are paid an extra salary).  Any reports produced by an APPG may be co-authored by an external sponsorship organisation, and should not be confused with a Select Committee report which will be signed off purely by MPs.

2. Registering a Group

The administration of the Register is maintained by the Assistant Registrar in the Office of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards (ext. 3738).  To be included on the Register or on the Approved List (see below) a group must first complete the Registration Form for APPGs.

Once registered, the group is sent the Rules on APPGs, which sets out the rules on the day-to-day conduct of registered groups.  If you have been asked to administer a Group, it is worth reading the Rules – or reacquainting yourself with the recently updated Guide – to ensure you know what Groups can and cannot do.  If you know the Rules, you will be in a better position to advise the officers and members of the Group.

3. Notifying changes

Once registered, groups are required to notify the Office of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards of any change required to their Register entry within 28 days of such a change arising.  Each group’s Register entry shows its title, officers, financial and material assistance received from outside Parliament, and relevant occupations of its staff.

4. Administration of Groups

All Party Groups are run by the group’s officers and their staff, sometimes with help from external organisations who may provide funding for receptions or staff to run the group.  The amount of work a Group generates depends entirely on how active it is.  Some groups may only meet a couple of times a year and have very little output; others meet far more frequently and may engage in a range of activities, such as hosting events, conducting inquiries and publishing reports.  If you have been asked to coordinate a Group, you should take your lead from the group’s officers as to what they want to do and how they want to do it, as no two groups are the same.

5. Membership of Groups

APPGs are informal and as such are not part of official parliamentary business. There are over 500 APPGs and their membership changes constantly. Hence only the names and roles of an APPG’s officers (who are its leaders) are included on the Register of APPGs.

It is the responsibility of each APPG to maintain a comprehensive an up-to-date list of its members and to publish it on the APPG’s website or (if it has no website) make the list available on request to anyone who asks the APPG for a copy.

An MP can be a member of as many APPGs as they like, but they may not be an officer of any more than six APPGs.

6. Meetings

Whenever you organise a meeting for an All Party Group, make sure you notify the Government Whips Office by emailing allpartynotice@parliament.uk, so that it can be included on the Weekly All-Party Notice.  This is essential for AGMs though not compulsory for ordinary meetings.  However, most Members of the House of Commons and Lords read the All-Party Notices so it is a good way of promoting the meetings.  The All-Party Notices are emailed to all MPs every Thursdays with the weekly business and the deadline for submitting a notice is 5pm the day before (Wednesday).

You can see more information on All-Party Parliamentary Groups here: http://www.parliament.uk/about/mps-and-lords/members/apg/