Whip (politics)

In politics, a whip is a member of a political party in a legislature whose task is to ensure that members of the party attend and vote as the party leadership desires. The term originated in the Parliament of the United Kingdom and derives from the "whipper-in" at a fox hunt. Whip is also used to mean the voting instructions issued to members by the Whip.

Whip in British politics

See Chief Whip

Whip in Canadian politics

See Chief Government Whip, Canada

Whip in Malaysian politics

See Chief Whip (Malaysia).

Whip in United States politics

Both houses of Congress, the House of Representatives and Senate, have majority and minority whips. They in turn have subordinate "regional" whips. While members of Congress often vote along party lines, the influence of the whip is weaker than in the UK system. For one thing, much money is raised by individual candidates, and congressmen are almost never ejected from a party. That said, stepping too far outside the party's platform can limit political ambitions or ability to obtain favorable legislation.

In the Senate, the Majority Whip is the second highest-ranking individual in the majority party (the party with the greater number of legislators in a legislative body), outranked only by the Majority Leader. However, in the House the Majority Whip is outranked by both the Majority Leader and the Speaker.

In both houses the Minority Whip is the second highest-ranking individual in the minority party (the party with the lesser number of legislators in a legislative body), outranked only by the Minority Leader.

The current Senate Majority Whip is Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who reports to the current Senate Majority Leader, Senator Bill Frist of Tennessee. Senator McConnell is most likely to run for majority leader with Frist's retirement. Senator Lamar Alexander of Tennessee has already started to seek the whip position for the Republican majority in the Senate.

The current Senate Minority Whip is Senator Richard Durbin of Illinois, who reports to the current Senate Minority Leader, Senator Harry Reid of Nevada.

The current House Majority Whip in the House is Representative Roy Blunt of Missouri, who reports to the current House Majority Leader, Representative John Boehner of Ohio.

The current House Minority Whip in the House is Representative Steny Hoyer of Maryland, who reports to the current House Minority Leader, Representative Nancy Pelosi of California.

Whip in Australian politics

In the Parliament of Australia and in the Parliaments of the six states and two self-governing territories, all the political parties have whips to ensure party discipline and carry out a variety of other functions on behalf of the party leadership. The most important function of the whips' office is to ensure that all Members and Senators are present to take part in votes in the Chamber. Unlike in the United Kingdom Parliament, government whips do not hold official office, but they are recognised for parliamentary purposes and enjoy certain privileges in the Chamber. The Speaker addresses them as "Chief Government Whip" and "Chief Opposition Whip." However, Australian whips in practice play a much lesser role than in the United Kingdom, since party discipline in Australia is much tighter and genuine threats to cross the floor are much rarer.

In the House of Representatives, the Chief Government Whip is Kerry Bartlett and the Chief Opposition Whip is Roger Price. The Government Whips are appointed by the Prime Minister in his capacity as Leader of the Liberal Party (that is, they are party appointments not government appointments). The Opposition Whips are elected by the Australian Labor Party Caucus. Each Chief Whip is assisted by two Deputy Whips. On the government side one of the Deputy Whips is always the National Party whip.

In the Senate the Government Whip is Senator Jeannie Ferris and the Opposition Whip is Senator George Campbell.

Similar arrangements exist in the state and territory Parliaments.