TheChief Whip of the Conservative Party oversees thewhipping system in the party, which is responsible for ensuring thatConservativeMPs orlist of current members of the House of Lords attend and vote inparliament in the desired way of theparty leadership. Chief Whips, of which two are appointed in the party, a member of theHouse of Commons and a member of theHouse of Lords, also help to organise their party's contribution to parliamentary business.
The party leadership may allow members to have afree vote based on their own conscience rather than party policy, which means the chief whip is not required to influence the way members vote.
This is a list of people who have served asChief Whip of theConservative Party, previously theTory Party, in theParliament of the United Kingdom.
| Chief Whip of the Conservative Party | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| Appointer | Leader of the Conservative Party |
| Inaugural holder | William Holmes |
| Formation | circa 1802 |
| Chief Whip of the Conservative Party | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| Appointer | Leader of the Conservative Party |
| Inaugural holder | The 3rd Earl Nelson |
| Formation | before 1852 |
| Year | Name |
|---|---|
| before 1852 | The Earl Nelson |
| 1852 | The Lord Colville of Culross |
| c.1870 | The Lord Skelmersdale (createdEarl of Lathom in 1880) |
| 1885 | The Earl of Kintore |
| 1889 | The Earl of Limerick |
| 1896 | The Earl Waldegrave |
| 1911 | The Duke of Devonshire |
| 1916 | The Lord Hylton |
| 1922 | The Earl of Clarendon |
| 1925 | The Earl of Plymouth |
| 1929 | The Earl of Lucan |
| 1940 | The Lord Templemore |
| 1945 | The Earl Fortescue |
| 1957 | The Earl St Aldwyn |
| 1977 | The Lord Denham |
| 1991 | The Lord Hesketh |
| 1993 | The Viscount Ullswater |
| 1994 | The Lord Strathclyde |
| 1998 | The Lord Henley |
| 2001 | The Lord Cope of Berkeley |
| 2007 | The Lady Anelay of St Johns |
| 2014 | The Lord Taylor of Holbeach |
| 2019 | The Lord Ashton of Hyde |
| 2022 | The Baroness Williams of Trafford |
Francis Urquhart is a fictional Conservative Chief Whip, created byMichael Dobbs, formerly Chief of Staff for British Conservative Prime MinisterMargaret Thatcher. Urquhart was the main character in Dobbs's trilogy of books, that were turned into successful BBC television dramas in the 1990s. The first book in the trilogy,House of Cards, wasadapted and broadcast by the BBC in 1990. This was subsequently followed by a 1993 adaptation of the second element of the trilogy,To Play The King. The third part,The Final Cut, aired in 1995. The trilogy charts Urquhart's ambitious rise through his party's ranks until he becomes Prime Minister. Urquhart was played byIan Richardson.
