It was one of those days “you think has been made up”, a former Conservative adviser told Sky News last night.
As MPs voted on a Labour motion to ban fracking, reports began to emerge of “bullying” and “manhandling” outside the no lobby.
Tory MPs “went to bed crying”, Labour MP Chris Bryant told Sky News on Thursday morning, adding that they had been “intimidated and bullied”.
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The business secretary, Jacob Rees-Mogg, said: “This is a government that is functioning well,” while admitting he could not claim to have “seen absolutely everything” outside the voting lobby.
“The fact is, our party’s in a total mess,” said Tory backbencher Danny Kruger. “Hundreds of colleagues are very worried.”
Conservative MPs had been instructed to vote against the motion.
The government argued it was committed to local consultations on fracking. That was despite the party’s 2019 manifesto committing to a “moratorium on fracking” unless the “science shows categorically it can be done safely”.
Thus it was understandable if Tory MPs were feeling confused.
Deputy Chief Whip Craig Whittaker had issued a “100% hard” three-line whip, meaning any Tory MP who rebelled could be thrown out of the parliamentary party, having shown, by their actions, that they did not have confidence in the government.
Northern Ireland minister Steve Baker told Sky News just before 6pm on Wednesday: “We’ve ended up with a confidence matter on the table. It’s extremely important that no one seeks to punish the government in these votes.”
But climate minister Graham Stuart told the Commons, minutes before the vote at 7pm, that “quite clearly this is not a confidence vote”.
Later, Number 10 said Mr Stuart had been “mistakenly” told by Downing Street to say the vote should not be treated as a confidence motion, and that Conservative MPs were “fully aware” it was subject to a three-line whip.
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Following the vote, which the government won comfortably with a majority of 90, rumours began to swirl around the Palace of Westminster suggesting that both the chief whip, Wendy Morton, and Mr Whittaker had resigned.
Mr Rees-Mogg told Sky News there was an “element of confusion” and he was “not entirely clear on what the situation is with the chief whip”.
Things were finally cleared up in the early hours of the morning, when Downing Street said at 1.33am: “The prime minister has full confidence in the chief and deputy chief whip.
“Throughout the day, the whips had treated the vote as a confidence motion. The minister at the despatch 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.”
Mr Bryant tweeted a photo taken outside the no lobby showing a collection of MPs gathered together.
Two Tory “waverers” were “surrounded” by “15-20 mostly Tory MPs”, he told Sky News.
Speaking after the vote, he said: “There was a group including several cabinet ministers who were basically shouting at them and at least one member was physically pulled through the door into the voting lobby.”
Interviewed again this morning, he added: “There was a lot of shouting, there was a lot of gesticulating, pointing at people, jabbing at people – ‘squaring up to people’ is how one other MP described it to me.
“I’ve been around a very long time in parliament and I’m not naive. Of course it’s perfectly legitimate for the whips to try and persuade their members by force of reason to vote with them, but it’s not on to intimidate and bully.”
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Sources close to Deputy Prime Minister Therese Coffey later denied she had “manhandled” MPs.
“Absolutely she was encouraging Conservative MPs into the government lobby but she didn’t manhandle anyone,” those sources said.
Transport Secretary Anne Marie-Trevelyan said she was “shocked” by the reports from the Commons, adding that it is “never acceptable” for MPs to be “manhandled” into voting.
An investigation has been launched.
Mr Rees-Mogg said the most physical contact he had seen outside the voting lobby was a woman “affectionately patting” a man on the back.
But he said he arrived with two minutes to go and could not claim he had seen “absolutely everything”.
Regarding Mr Bryant, he said the Labour MP “sometimes ought to be more judicious about the language he bandies about”.
Mr Bryant countered by saying: “I haven’t seen any videos. I’ve only seen still photos, but Jacob Rees-Mogg is in all of them.
“There will be individual Tory MPs who went to bed crying. I know, because they’ve told me so.”
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Mr Kruger told Sky News: “I didn’t see any of that (alleged manhandling) and, very dismayed at those reports, I don’t really believe them.
“Obviously the atmosphere is febrile. Things are very bad for the government. No doubt there are harsh words being exchanged, but I’m afraid that is politics.”
He added that there was “certainly no manhandling” and those suggesting there was are “exaggerating, they’re twisting the knife”.
He went on: “But the fact is, our party’s in a total mess. The government is in a very bad way. We’re a divided party at the moment. Hundreds of colleagues are very worried.”
Another backbencher, David Simmonds, said: “Our colleague who allegedly was manhandled says that wasn’t the case.”
Claire Pearsall, a former Tory adviser and Tory councillor, said: “This afternoon has been one of those days that you just think has been made up.”
She was in Westminster on Tuesday and said “people are just sitting around thinking this is the end of days”.
Earlier in the day, Suella Braverman resigned as home secretary and was replaced by former transport secretary Grant Shapps.
Looking on the bright side, senior Tory backbencher Sir Roger Gale predicted that Prime Minister Liz Truss could emerge stronger following Ms Braverman’s departure.
“On balance, at the end of today I would say, in a peculiar way – and it is peculiar – Truss might come out of it stronger.
“I may be completely wrong and out of touch.”
