Political Focus, with Bill Jacobs

LOCAL MPs Janet Anderson and Greg Pope have one of the most arcane and misunderstood jobs in politics - they are Government Whips.

As such they toil silently in the bowels of Westminster doing the dirty work needed to make government run efficiently. They are not allowed to make public comment on general policy issues and are normally prevented from speaking in the House of Commons.

Their job also requires them to be almost permanently at Westminster - there are no "constituency weeks" to spend in the seat or days off for local campaigning.

As a result, their constituents may think they have sunk without trace. The heady days of opposition when they could attack any government policy they chose are gone.

Unlike Home Secretary Jack Straw they do not pop up regularly on radio and TV with some new policy initiative.

Their appearances in the national newspapers are limited to snide paragraphs in the political gossip columns.

They do not have the licence of long-standing backbenchers to criticise on the basis of their wealth of experience. Nor do they have the chance to make a splash at constituency and Commons level at every opportunity.

They do not even have the licence of Ribble Valley Tory Nigel Evans to become the anti-devolution rent-a-quote of the airways. Instead they have to ensure that government business gets done and that potentially rebellious backbenchers are kept in line.

The fact that Mrs Anderson is succeeding in her job is shown by the fact that she was recently described by one disgruntled left-wing MP as "a tripe hound." Being a Whip is not the way to become popular with your fellows.

The two MPs are responsible for negotiating the deals required with the opposition and the Commons authorities to get Bills through Parliament. They have responsibilities for certain areas of policy and the Bills and committees that go with it.

While a majority of more than 170 means the disciplining and dragooning of MPs through the division lobbies is not a particularly difficult task, there is still much detailed negotiation needed to get legislation successfully through the Commons.

The Whips must ensure that Bills get through their committee stage swiftly and undamaged, which requires making certain there is always a majority of government MPs in or near the Committee Room in case a vote is called.

They also must try to make sure that backbench MPs do not embarrass the party, provide journalists with knocking copy and the opposition with a heaven-sent opportunity to portray division in government. Mrs Anderson has the rather pleasant task of sending a daily letter to the Queen, which she promises is interesting and gossipy, to inform the monarch of the doings of Parliament.

When Her Majesty comes to open Parliament, the Rossendale and Darwen MP is taken to Buckingham Palace as a hostage for the Sovereign's safe return.

She has responsibility for culture, media and sport, while Hyndburn MP Mr Pope looks after foreign affairs.

It is not by accident that these Tony Blair loyalists hold these vital jobs. For both Culture Secretary Chris Smith and, especially, Foreign Secretary Robin Cook are regarded by the Prime Minister's inner circle as enemies rather than allies.

So part of their job is to keep an eye on their unreliable Cabinet Ministers and their junior ministerial team.

Mrs Anderson has also been handed the unfortunate task of trying to ensure that Minister Without Portfolio Peter Mandelson is elected to the party's ruling National Executive Committee. As Mr Mandelson is one of the most disliked, if feared, MPs in the Labour Party, she has her work cut out. And if she succeeds, Mr Mandelson will no doubt claim the credit.

If she fails to get him elected, she can be certain the blame will be heading her way rather than his. But all this work in the engine room of the Commons does have its rewards.

First of all, Whips learn a huge amount about the way Westminster works, which can be invaluable later on. Secondly, they learn a great deal about MPs, including a few murky secrets. Knowing those never goes amiss in politics.

And finally, work in the Whips office is traditionally the fast track to promotion.

Although Mrs Anderson and Mr Pope may have been disappointed at first to be consigned to the dark corridors of the Commons, they can be confident that they will emerge blinking into the spotlight as Ministers of State long before some of their junior ministerial colleagues.

And they will have all that knowledge learnt while in the Whips office to ensure they do the job well enough to make an early entry into Cabinet a real possibility.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.