Conservative MPs were bullied and manhandled into backing Liz Truss in a vote on fracking, according to MPs who witnessed the scenes. One furious Tory MP described the chaotic events as a “shambles and a disgrace”. Visibly shaken, senior Conservative MP Charles Walker said what he saw as “inexcusable” and there was “no coming back” for the government.
Cabinet ministers deny claims they used physical force to persuade colleagues to vote with the government. But Labour’s Chris Bryant called for an investigation into what “looked like bullying to me”.
Meanwhile, Tory MPs told the BBC that chief whip Wendy Morton, and the deputy chief whip, are no longer in post.
Tory whips ordered their MPs to vote against the motion or face being suspended, telling them it was test of confidence in Ms Truss. But the process was thrown into confusion at the last minute when climate minister Graham Stuart suggested it was not a confidence vote.
Chaotic scenes in the voting lobby followed, as whips tried to get Tory MPs to oppose the Labour motion.
The government won the vote by 326 votes to 230 - a government majority of 96.
The division list on the Parliament’s website showed 40 Conservative MPs did not take part, including Ms Truss and Chief Whip Wendy Morton.
Speaking to Sky News, Jacob Rees-Mogg, the business secretary, played down allegations made by Labour MP Chris Bryant that some Conservative MPs shouted at and “manhandled” others in the voting lobbies to get them to vote with the government. He said he did not see any bullying or physical contact “beyond a female affectionately patting someone on the back” - though “one member used an expletive”.
Describing the chaotic scenes, Mr Bryant told Sky News that one Conservative MP, Alexander Stafford, was “manhandled” and “bullied”. He said: “There was a bunch of Conservative members who were completely uncertain about whether they were allowed to vote with the Labour motion because of what had been said in the chamber about whether it’s a free vote or a confidence vote. There was a group - including several cabinet ministers - who were basically shouting at them. At least one member was physically pulled through the door into the voting lobby.” He claimed Jacob Rees-Mogg and Theresa Coffey, the deputy prime minister, were among the group that “moved forward with that one member” into the voting lobby.
A source close to deputy PM Therese Coffey has told Sky News she has “not manhandled anybody”.
Several MPs claimed to have witnessed chaotic scenes ahead of the vote.
Labour frontbencher Ian Murray said: “I’ve never seen scenes like it at the entrance to a voting lobby. Tories on open warfare. Jostling and Rees Mogg shouting at his colleagues. Whips screaming at Tories. They are done and should call a general election. Two Tory whips dragging people in. Shocking.”
Fellow Labour MP Lloyd Russell-Moyle added: “Just seen Tory whips manhandling a crying Tory MP into their lobby for fracking. You couldn’t make this toxic stuff up, nasty to see the Tories at work, if this is how they treat their MPs spare a thought for the country.”
And Jess Philips said: “Massive Tory row going on in the lobby, literally trying to force people through. Lots of anger.”
The vote, on a Labour motion that would have set in place a future decision on potentially banning fracking in England, had been billed in advance as a confidence motion, meaning Tories who did not back it could be stripped of the party whip and forced to sit as independent MPs.
After a series of MPs said they would rebel nonetheless, including Chris Skidmore, the former minister who heads up Truss’s review into net zero policies, the climate minister, Graham Stuart, told the Commons: “Quite clearly this is not a confidence vote.”
But in yet another apparent policy reverse in recent days, a No 10 statement on Thursday morning said Stuart had been incorrectly informed about this, and confirmed that the whips remained in place.
“The prime minister has full confidence in the chief and deputy chief whip,” the statement said. “Throughout the day, the whips had treated the vote as a confidence motion. The minister at the dispatch box was told, mistakenly, by Downing Street to say that it was not.
“However, Conservative MPs were fully aware that the vote was subject to a three-line whip. The whips will now be speaking to Conservative MPs who failed to support the government. Those without a reasonable excuse for failing to vote with the government can expect proportionate disciplinary action.”
In total, 40 Tory MPs did not vote with the government, although none voted with Labour, meaning the government defeated the Labour motion by 326 votes to 230. Some of these would have had permission to be away, and some seemingly did not have their votes properly recorded. But it leaves open the prospect of a large number of MPs being reprimanded or losing the whip.
Downing Street did not respond to questions as to what form the disciplinary action will take.
Some Tory MPs may regard disciplinary action from Liz Truss as a badge of honour …
