Author: Purple Brolly

Britain’s youngest ever and second-longest-serving Prime Minister – almost 19 years – was William Pitt the Younger (1759-1806) of Kent, who took the premiership aged 24, serving in 1783-1801 and 1804 until his untimely death aged 46. As well as being the PM, he was the Chancellor of the Exchequer simultaneously, an unthinkable feat today.

This exceptional politician was destined to follow in his father’s footsteps (a revered PM in 1766-68) and, being home-schooled, he declared at the age of seven that he would serve his country. Just seven years later he was admitted to Cambridge and became an MP aged 21, one of 100 MPs at that time aged under 30.  King George III (1738-1820) repeatedly asked him to be PM before he accepted.

After Britain’s defeat in the American Revolutionary War (1775-83), the national debt, economy and Navy were rebuilt by Pitt, who possessed astute financial ability. Wearing his Chancellor’s hat, Pitt delivered an astonishing 25 Budgets, introduced Income Tax and paper money. Pitt is regarded as a key figure in the direction of the Tory Party. He was incorruptible, aloof, witty and a great orator. His few friends included slavery abolitionist William Wilberforce (1759-1833). However, the stresses of office and war gave him incurable ulcers and he drank to excess.

(Images LtoR: Pitt’s House of Commons at ageofrevolution.org / CC BY-NC-ND 3.0, Pitt in later years at picryl.com / Public domain)

In 1742 Lord Guernsey (1715-77) compared huntsmen’s assistants ‘whipping-in’ straying hounds back into the pack with Parliamentary leaders’ assistants coercing their Party’s wayward MPs to show up and vote for the Party’s policies. The metaphor stuck and the Whips still play a key role in the expected functioning of both Houses.

The Chief Government Whip has 8-10 Assistant Whips allocated to Members from different geographical areas. He draws up the weekly Order of Business in consultation with the Leader of the House and circulates it to Members. Important items are underlined once, twice or thrice according to degree of necessity for attending the debate. The most pivotal matters have three underlines, hence the term “three-line whip”. Absence could be excused if a ‘pairing’ is arranged with a trustworthy Opposition Member.

However, a Member who defiantly goes against ‘the Party line’ may find the whip ‘withdrawn’ temporarily which could lead to expulsion from the Party. Whips, who must be excellent communicators and negotiators in their interactions with all Parliamentary levels, passing information back and forth, do thereby have certain ‘carrots’ for persuasion of wavering Members, such as recommendation for promotion or even Honours, since they have the ear of those who decide those matters.

(Image: Philippejacquet01 at pixabay.com / Public domain)