Whips pride themselves on their secrecy and discretion. Reporter Michael Cockerell uncovers their shadowy world and reveals how they operate. How close to reality is the fictional Chief Whip Francis Urquhart, in the drama series House of Cards? Government Whips can make or break ministers and ensure they know all the secrets of the private lives of their fellow MPs. One Tory MP claims that the Whips are a gestapo, but another says they are democracy's unsung heroes - as necessary for Parliament as sewers are for civilisation.
Michael Cockerell
Rupert Allason
Joe Ashton
Eric Clarke
Geoffrey Dickens
Stephen Dorrell
Jim Dowd
Iain Duncan Smith
Tim Fortescue
Derek Foster
Tristan Garel-Jones
Will Howie
Nigel Lawson
David Lightbown
John Major
Gordon McMaster
Robert Mellish
Michael Neubert
Jon Owen Jones
Cecil Parkinson
Ray Powell
John Prescott
Hugh Rossi
Edward Short
Norman Tebbit
Margaret Thatcher
William Whitelaw
Betty Boothroyd
Dennis Skinner