Tag: Whip

19th Century history, Victorian, Victorian Commons

Defying the Whip: ‘rebel’ MP Swynfen Jervis (1797-1867)

On the anniversary of Swynfen Jervis’s return for Bridport in 1837, Dr Philip Salmon of the Victorian Commons explores the career of this ‘eccentric’ MP, focusing on the way in which he defied the Whig-Liberal government in 1839… One of the themes being explored by the Victorian Commons project is the decline of ‘independence’ in the 19th-century Commons and the rise of party-based voting by … Continue reading Defying the Whip: ‘rebel’ MP Swynfen Jervis (1797-1867)

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17th Century history, James I to Restoration

‘“The Parliament driver”: Walter Long, party politics and the whip

The recent stream of votes in the Commons surrounding Brexit has thrown into relief the practice of ‘whipping’ MPs into supporting their party line.  Dr Vivienne Larminie of the House of Commons 1640-1660 section examines the emergence of an early prototype. In the summer of 1647 several years of escalating faction-fighting in Parliament came to a head.  With Charles I now defeated and in captivity, … Continue reading ‘“The Parliament driver”: Walter Long, party politics and the whip

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