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2019 suspension of rebel Conservative MPs

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On 3 September 2019, the British Conservative Party withdrew the whip from 21 of its MPs who had supported an emergency motion to allow the House of Commons to undertake proceedings on the European Union (Withdrawal) (No. 6) Bill on 4 September.[1] In the hours after the vote, the Chief Whip Mark Spencer informed the rebel MPs that they were no longer entitled to sit as Conservatives.[2][3] This led to the loss of the Conservative/DUP majority in the Commons.

The suspended MPs included two former Chancellors of the Exchequer (Philip Hammond and the Father of the House, Kenneth Clarke), seven other former Cabinet members (Greg Clark, David Gauke, Justine Greening, Dominic Grieve, Oliver Letwin, Caroline Nokes and Rory Stewart), and 12 others including Nicholas Soames, grandson of Winston Churchill.[4][5]

On 29 October 2019, 10 of the suspended MPs had the whip restored;[6] of these, six stood down at the December 2019 election, while four contested it as Conservative candidates, all retaining their seats. Of the 11 who remained suspended, six declined to stand at the election, while five stood as independents or Liberal Democrats; all five lost their seats. As of 2024, Caroline Nokes is the only MP who still has their seat.

The suspension of these MPs bore resemblance to the Maastricht Rebels who had the Conservative whip removed by the governing Conservative Party during the ratification of the Maastricht Treaty in the early 1990s.

Background

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In April 2019, Speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow allowed Sir Oliver Letwin to table a motion that would allow MPs to undertake proceedings on the second reading, committee, and third reading of the European Union (Withdrawal) (No. 5) Bill (also known as the Cooper–Letwin Bill) in one day. The motion was passed by one vote.[7][8] Subsequently, the bill was passed as the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2019.

Several of the MPs had voted for Theresa May's ultimately unsuccessful Withdrawal Agreement, and subsequently continued to oppose a "no deal" Brexit scenario. They became known in the media as the "Gaukeward Squad" after their informal leader David Gauke.[9][10]

In September 2019, Bercow again permitted Letwin to introduce a motion under Standing Order No. 24 (SO No. 24) to take control of parliamentary business away from the government, this time to allow for the passage of the European Union (Withdrawal) (No. 6) Bill, to be introduced by Hilary Benn on the following day.[11] In anticipation of the vote, the government whips' office announced that voting in favour of Letwin's motion would effectively be "destroying the government's negotiating position and handing control of parliament to Jeremy Corbyn." On that basis, those Conservative MPs supporting the motion would have the whip withdrawn.[12]

Rebel MPs

[edit]

A total of 21 Conservative MPs voted for the motion:

Portrait MP Constituency Parliamentary party status 2019 general election
Guto Bebb Aberconwy did not stand[13]
Richard Benyon Newbury whip restored on 29 October 2019 did not stand;[14] made a peer in the 2020 Special Honours as Baron Benyon.[15]
Steve Brine Winchester whip restored on 29 October 2019 stood as a Conservative;[16] retained seat with a much reduced majority of 985 over the Liberal Democrats.
Alistair Burt North East Bedfordshire whip restored on 29 October 2019 did not stand[17]
Greg Clark Tunbridge Wells whip restored on 29 October 2019 stood as a Conservative;[18] retained seat
Kenneth Clarke Rushcliffe did not stand;[19] made a peer in the 2019 Dissolution Honours as Baron Clarke of Nottingham.[20]
David Gauke South West Hertfordshire stood as an independent; lost seat to Conservatives, coming second.
Justine Greening Putney did not stand;[21] seat gained by Labour, their only gain from the Conservatives at the election.
Dominic Grieve Beaconsfield stood as an independent;[22] lost seat to Conservatives, coming second.
Sam Gyimah East Surrey joined Liberal Democrats on 14 September 2019 stood as a Liberal Democrat in Kensington;[23] lost seat to Conservatives, coming third behind Labour.
Philip Hammond Runnymede and Weybridge did not stand;[24] made a peer in the 2019 Dissolution Honours as Baron Hammond of Runnymede.[25]
Stephen Hammond Wimbledon whip restored on 29 October 2019 stood as a Conservative;[26] retained seat with a much reduced majority of 628 over the Liberal Democrats.
Richard Harrington Watford whip restored on 29 October 2019 did not stand;[27] later made a peer in the 2022 Special Honours as Lord Harrington of Watford.[28]
Margot James Stourbridge whip restored on 29 October 2019 did not stand[29]
Sir Oliver Letwin West Dorset did not stand[30]
Anne Milton Guildford stood as an independent;[31] lost seat to Conservatives, coming fourth behind the Liberal Democrat and Labour candidates.
Caroline Nokes Romsey and Southampton North whip restored on 29 October 2019 stood as a Conservative; retained seat [1]
Antoinette Sandbach Eddisbury joined Liberal Democrats on 31 October 2019[32] stood as a Liberal Democrat;[23] lost seat to Conservatives, coming third behind Labour.
Sir Nicholas Soames Mid Sussex whip restored on 29 October 2019 did not stand[33] later made a peer in the 2022 Special Honours as Baron Soames of Fletching.[34]
Rory Stewart Penrith and The Border did not stand[35]
Ed Vaizey Wantage whip restored on 29 October 2019 did not stand;[36] made a peer in the 2019 Dissolution Honours as Baron Vaizey of Didcot.[37]

Aftermath

[edit]

On 5 September, the Universities Minister Jo Johnson, who is also the Prime Minister Boris Johnson's younger brother, resigned from the Cabinet and stood down as an MP at the subsequent general election. The Daily Telegraph reported that Johnson's decision had been triggered by the suspension of Conservative MPs two days prior.[38]

Two days later, the Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd resigned from the Cabinet and surrendered the Conservative whip in Parliament in protest at Boris Johnson's policy on Brexit and the treatment of the 21 rebel MPs.[39]

On 9 September, the bill was passed as the European Union (Withdrawal) (No. 2) Act 2019.

On 14 September, former Conservative leadership contender Sam Gyimah, who was one of the 21, joined the Liberal Democrats. On 4 October, former Cabinet minister and former Conservative leadership contender Rory Stewart resigned from the Conservative Party, in order to stand as an independent candidate for Mayor of London.[40]

On 29 October, 10 of the MPs suspended from the party in September had the whip restored after meeting Boris Johnson. They were Alistair Burt, Caroline Nokes, Greg Clark, Sir Nicholas Soames, Ed Vaizey, Margot James, Richard Benyon, Stephen Hammond, Steve Brine and Richard Harrington.[6]

On 31 October, Antoinette Sandbach joined the Liberal Democrats.[32] On 5 November, Philip Hammond stood down as an MP at the forthcoming general election.[24]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "European Union (Withdrawal)". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Vol. 664. Parliament of the United Kingdom: House of Commons. 3 September 2019. col. 132–136.
  2. ^ Mikhailova, Anna (4 September 2019). "Boris Johnson to strip 21 Tory MPs of the Tory whip in parliamentary bloodbath". The Daily Telegraph.
  3. ^ Stewart, Heather; Walker, Peter (3 September 2019). "Boris Johnson to seek election after rebel Tories deliver Commons defeat". The Guardian.
  4. ^ Hossein-Pour, Anahita (4 September 2019). "Twenty-one Tory rebels lose party whip after backing bid to block no-deal Brexit". PoliticsHome.
  5. ^ Sandford, Alasdair; Crowcroft, Orlando (4 September 2019). "'No to no-deal Brexit': the 21 Tory rebels who defied Boris Johnson". Euronews.
  6. ^ a b "Whip restored to 10 Conservative MPs who rebelled against government over Brexit". ITV News. 29 October 2019. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
  7. ^ MacLellan, Kylie; James, William; MacAskill, Andrew (3 April 2019). "Lawmakers vote to go ahead with debate on Brexit delay law". Reuters. Archived from the original on 3 April 2019. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
  8. ^ "Business of the House motion". CommonsVotes.DigiMinister.com. 3 April 2019. Archived from the original on 3 April 2019. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
  9. ^ "'Gaukeward' squad joins fight against no-deal Brexit". BBC News. 18 July 2019. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
  10. ^ Capurro, Daniel (23 July 2019). "Who are the Gaukeward Squad and how far will they go to stop Boris Johnson getting a no-deal Brexit?". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
  11. ^ Johnston, John (2 September 2019). "EXPLAINED: How MPs 'last chance' bid to block no-deal Brexit could play out". PoliticsHome.
  12. ^ Elgot, Jessica (1 September 2019). "Johnson could sacrifice majority by withdrawing whip from rebel MPs". The Guardian.
  13. ^ Elgot, Jessica (14 July 2019). "Tory MP to stand down over grave concerns about Johnson as PM". The Guardian.
  14. ^ "STATEMENT FROM RT HON. RICHARD BENYON MP FOR NEWBURY | Richard Benyon MP". richardbenyon.com. Archived from the original on 9 September 2019. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
  15. ^ "Crown Office | The Gazette". www.thegazette.co.uk.
  16. ^ Steve Brine [@BrineMP] (1 November 2019). "Winter Tour (now to be known as General Election 2019) underway with a very busy street surgery in Winchester. Pleased to be reconfirmed as the Conservative Candidate last night and will be standing as a strong, experienced and principled MP on 12th December. #TeamSteve" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  17. ^ Sparrow, Andrew (3 September 2019). "Tory rebel Alistair Burt to stand down as MP at next election". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
  18. ^ Greg Clark [@GregClarkMP] (6 November 2019). "It has been the privilege and honour of my life to represent #TunbridgeWells since 2005. I am extremely grateful to @TunbridgeW_CCA for choosing me as their candidate for #GE2019" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  19. ^ Walker, Peter (27 June 2019). "Veteran Tory MP Ken Clarke: 'I'm minded to step down now'". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 June 2019.
  20. ^ "Crown Office | The Gazette". www.thegazette.co.uk.
  21. ^ Proctor, Kate. "Justine Greening to quit as Tory MP at next election". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
  22. ^ Murphy, Joe (30 November 2019). "Dominic Grieve: Rebel MP to take on old party to stand as Independent at general election". Evening Standard. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
  23. ^ a b "Liberal Democrat Parliamentary candidates". Mark Pack. 1 September 2019.
  24. ^ a b "General election 2019: Philip Hammond to stand down as MP". BBC News. 5 November 2019.
  25. ^ "Crown Office | The Gazette". www.thegazette.co.uk.
  26. ^ @MertonTories (1 November 2019). "Huge congratulations to @S_Hammond who was overwhelmingly readopted as the Conservative Candidate for Wimbledon this evening" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  27. ^ "Watford MP announces decision to STAND DOWN at next election". Watford Observer. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  28. ^ "Introduction: Lord Harrington of Watford".
  29. ^ The Sunday Times, 3 November 2019, p. 1
  30. ^ Speare-Cole, Rebecca (21 August 2019). "Tory grandee and chief Remainer Sir Oliver Letwin to stand down at next general election". Evening Standard. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
  31. ^ Giles, Martin (5 November 2019). "Anne Milton 'Shakes off Shackles' of Party Politics to Stand as Independent". The Guildford Dragon. Archived from the original on 8 January 2020. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  32. ^ a b "Ex-Tory MP Antoinette Sandbach joins Liberal Democrats". BBC News. 31 October 2019. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
  33. ^ Newsnight [@BBCNewsnight] (3 September 2019). "Sir Nicholas Soames MP confirms to #Newsnight that he will not stand in the next general election. "I have been told by the chief whip… that I have had the whip removed after 37 years as a Conservative MP." "I'm not going to stand" @NSoames" (Tweet). Retrieved 3 September 2019 – via Twitter.
  34. ^ "Lord Soames of Fletching". MPs and Lords. UK Parliament. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
  35. ^ "Conservative MP Rory Stewart standing down". BBC News. 4 October 2019. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
  36. ^ edvaizey [@edvaizey] (6 November 2019). "After much reflection I have decided not to stand at the next election. I will campaign hard for my successor & look forward to @BorisJohnson and @conservatives winning a great majority. Thanks to all in Wantage & Didcot who supported me over so many years #vexit @edvaizey" (Tweet). Retrieved 6 November 2019 – via Twitter.
  37. ^ "Crown Office | The Gazette". www.thegazette.co.uk.
  38. ^ Mikhailova, Anna (5 September 2019). "Jo Johnson hands Labour propaganda coup as he resigns over brother Boris' Brexit policy". The Daily Telegraph.
  39. ^ "Amber Rudd resigns from government". BBC News. 7 September 2019.
  40. ^ "Ex-Tory MP Rory Stewart stands down to run for London mayor". BBC News. 4 October 2019. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
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