User request: explain why whips aren't active

[MyfanwyNixon]

My MP is a Whip in the House of Commons.

As such, he cannot take part in debates. Could you add something to your site about this (preferably on the MP's page) so people know why their MP seems to never make a contribution!

[RichardTaylor]

If constituents are asking why their MPs aren't as active as they'd like then TheyWorkForYou.com has done its job.

I don't think there's anything stopping a whip from taking a full part in proceedings in the House of Commons. There might be conventions, [secret] party rules, or even sometimes something in the Ministerial Code, but it's up to MPs how they prioritise duties to constituents, party, the House of Commons and Government if there's a conflict.

If TheyWorkForYou is to say anything I'd suggest something giving readers a hint as to what might be going on eg.:

If an MP decides to take on a role such as a Minister, Parliamentary Private Secretary, Whip, Speaker or Deputy Speaker this may affect their Parliamentary activity. Personal circumstances such as illness, bereavement, or paternity/maternity leave can also impact an MP's contributions.

PublicWhip's FAQ says:

An MP may have a low attendance because they have abstained, have ministerial or other duties or they are the speaker.

That could be adapted for TheyWorkForYou

An MP's Parliamentary activity may be affected by them taking on ministerial or other duties or if they are the speaker.

The PublicWhip FAQ links to a Parliamentary Research Briefing which covers this question:

http://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/RP03-32/RP03-32.pdf

The number of questions tabled and contributions made by an individual Member, as well as their participation rate in Commons divisions, may be affected by several factors. These may include:

• holding office as a Government minister or Opposition spokesperson
• holding positions as a Government or Opposition Whip
• absence from Westminster on parliamentary or constituency business, including membership of delegations to international organisations.
• absence through period(s) of illness, bereavement, or paternity/maternity leave
• chairing a Standing Committee

The document also mentions:

By long standing convention, a Member who has chaired a Standing Committee on a Bill takes no further part in any proceedings relating to that Bill.

and

Opposition front-bench duties.

Specifically on the question of whips a whip can be a paid Government position; a position in the opposition attracting an additional public salary, or just a party position, in the latter case there might not be an official, public, acknowledgement of the role.

[MyfanwyNixon]

Interesting! I also looked at http://www.w4mp.org/library/guides/parliament-guides/whos-who/whips-and-their-work/ which also refers to 'convention' but in a way that suggests it's rarely contested:

the convention being that Government whips do not sign EDMs or table questions to Ministers.

and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chief_Whip

Whips in the House of Commons do not speak in debates.

If we were to point out possible reasons for a lack of contributions, I can see that a note on every MP's page would be the simplest way to do it; on the other hand perhaps the more useful way would be to attach the note only to those members who are in the roles of speaker, whip, etc. - a kind of 'alert! before you read too much into this figure, be aware of this factor' message.

[RichardTaylor]

If TheyWorkForYou was to flag up "holding office as a Government minister" as factor readers could take into account when interpreting an MP's Parliamentary activity this could be an opportunity to note members of the Government may put "collective responsibility" ahead of voting and speaking in line with what they really think.

Some readers may consider keeping a Government position is a good reason for an MP vote a certain way.

[MyfanwyNixon]

More widely, a user reported this comment from Alex Salmond:

As for voting ratios this is hardly surprising since I serve on the Council of Europe on behalf of the Westminster Parliament which means that I vote and speak in Strasbourg for several weeks in the parliamentary session. Speaking numbers are the only genuine measure of parliamentary activity, since unless you are a whip, it records personal activity

Another reason to add notes that explain exceptions/reasons for abnormal rates of activity, I guess.

[MyfanwyNixon]

Now we have recent votes pages for MPs, this seems more urgent - eg a user contacted us to say that her MP's votes appeared to be out of date. Her MP turns out to be the deputy speaker, whose voting record is just a long list of 'absent's. https://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/10348/eleanor_laing/epping_forest/recent