Petition · past parliament
Debate the Whip system in the House of Commons for a major reform of the system.
Closed
321 signatures
What the petition asks
A major reform of the whips system is essential to bring back meaningful debate to parliament. The power of the whips inhibits democracy and encourages a herd instinct and mindlessly partisan behaviour. The power Whips currently hold encourages a lack of integrity and independent thought.
The roles of the whips are secretive, but they appear to influence who sits on committees to question government ministers and having some say over who becomes chairman of the committee. They have too much power and too much say over what happens to MPs. Coercing, threatening or otherwise telling elected MPs how to vote should be outlawed. The notion of "whipping" members into the voting lobbies is yet another slap in the face of democracy and only benefits the party and executive branch.
Timeline
| 29 Nov 2017 | Petition opened for signatures |
| 29 May 2018 | Closed to new signatures |
Key facts
Signatures
321
Status
Closed
Opened
29 Nov 2017
Closed
29 May 2018
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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.