2019 suspension of rebel Conservative MPs

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. 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. 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.

On 29 October 2019, 10 of the suspended MPs had the whip restored. Six stood down at the December 2019 election, while four contested it as Conservative candidates; all four retained 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.

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

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. 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.

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. 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.

Rebel MPs

A total of 21 Conservative MPs voted for the motion:

Portrait MP Constituency Parliamentary party status 2019 general election
Official portrait of Guto Bebb crop 2.jpg Guto Bebb Aberconwy did not stand
Official portrait of Richard Benyon crop 2.jpg Richard Benyon Newbury whip restored on 29 October 2019 did not stand; made a Lord in 2020 as Baron Benyon of Englefield.
Official portrait of Steve Brine crop 2.jpg Steve Brine Winchester whip restored on 29 October 2019 stood as a Conservative; retained seat with a much reduced majority of 985 over the Liberal Democrats.
Official portrait of Alistair Burt crop 2.jpg Alistair Burt North East Bedfordshire whip restored on 29 October 2019 did not stand
Official portrait of Greg Clark crop 2.jpg Greg Clark Tunbridge Wells whip restored on 29 October 2019 stood as a Conservative; retained seat
Official portrait of Mr Kenneth Clarke crop 2.jpg Kenneth Clarke Rushcliffe did not stand; made a Lord in 2020 as Baron Clarke of Nottingham.
Official portrait of Mr David Gauke crop 2.jpg David Gauke South West Hertfordshire stood as an independent; lost seat to Conservatives, coming second.
Official portrait of Justine Greening crop 2.jpg Justine Greening Putney did not stand; seat gained by Labour, their only gain from the Conservatives at the election.
Official portrait of Mr Dominic Grieve crop 2.jpg Dominic Grieve Beaconsfield stood as an independent; lost seat to Conservatives, coming second.
Official portrait of Mr Sam Gyimah crop 2.jpg Sam Gyimah East Surrey joined Liberal Democrats on 14 September 2019 stood as a Liberal Democrat in Kensington; lost seat to Conservatives, coming third behind Labour.
Official portrait of Mr Philip Hammond crop 2.jpg Philip Hammond Runnymede and Weybridge did not stand; made a Lord in 2020 as Baron Hammond of Runnymede.
Official portrait of Stephen Hammond crop 2.jpg Stephen Hammond Wimbledon whip restored on 29 October 2019 stood as a Conservative; retained seat with a much reduced majority of 628 over the Liberal Democrats.
Official portrait of Richard Harrington crop 2.jpg Richard Harrington Watford whip restored on 29 October 2019 did not stand; later made a Lord in 2022 as Lord Harrington of Watford
Official portrait of Margot James crop 2.jpg Margot James Stourbridge whip restored on 29 October 2019 did not stand
Oliver Letwin Official.jpg Sir Oliver Letwin West Dorset did not stand
Official portrait of Anne Milton crop 2.jpg Anne Milton Guildford stood as an independent; lost seat to Conservatives, coming fourth behind the Liberal Democrat and Labour candidates.
Official portrait of Caroline Nokes.jpg Caroline Nokes Romsey and Southampton North whip restored on 29 October 2019 stood as a Conservative; retained seat [1]
Official portrait of Antoinette Sandbach crop 2.jpg Antoinette Sandbach Eddisbury joined Liberal Democrats on 31 October 2019 stood as a Liberal Democrat; lost seat to Conservatives, coming third behind Labour.
Official portrait of Sir Nicholas Soames crop 2.jpg Sir Nicholas Soames Mid Sussex whip restored on 29 October 2019 did not stand
Rory Stewart MP (cropped).jpg Rory Stewart Penrith and The Border did not stand
Official portrait of Mr Edward Vaizey crop 2.jpg Ed Vaizey Wantage whip restored on 29 October 2019 did not stand; made a Lord in 2020 as Baron Vaizey of Didcot.

Aftermath

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.

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.

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.

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

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

See also


This page was last updated at 2022-07-06 01:47 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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