Plenty of issues have now arrived where MPs can use that voice. Several cited the recent debate over assisted dying, where MPs had to make up their own mind rather than following the party whip, as a clarifying moment.
Learning how parliamentary procedure works is also making MPs more confident, just as they finally settle on their friends, their pet issues — and perhaps in future, their factions.
Formal groups of Labour MPs are centered around old “red wall” seats, growth, coastal areas, specific regions, rural seats, the socially conservative “Blue Labour” movement, trade unions, the Co-Op Party and a new group, Labour Future. While several of these back the government forcefully, they still create more bases for MPs away from No. 10.
Whips have noted an uptick in skirmishes in recent months with the left-wing Socialist Campaign Group, some of whose members lost the whip after rebelling on welfare cuts last year. One Labour official said drily: “It’s tolerated as long as it’s at a low level and not very visible.”
Individual issues drive MPs too. New MP Chris Hinchliff challenged the government over its bill to free up housing developments, while Paul Waugh, the Labour MP for Rochdale, backed (with caveats) calls for a national inquiry into grooming gangs in January, when the government was still resisting one. The war between Israel and Gaza — and the U.K.’s restrained response — has tested many MPs’ resolve.
‘Open season’
The question in No. 10 will be what comes next.
