Fear and loathing in the lobbies: how the government whipped against itself – and lost

With just a few minutes to go before the division on the government’s motion on no deal, Tory MPs’ phones started buzzing. It was a message from the whips, telling them that the free vote they’d been promised since last night was now subject to a three line whip: the strongest possible instruction on how to vote. But there was no further explanation. A message from Chris Pincher, the deputy chief whip, read:

‘We are voting no to the amended motion. This is a 3 line whip.’

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It was sent at 7.31pm. Some Conservatives didn’t get this message until they were walking through the lobbies, still believing that, as Theresa May had promised last night, they could make their own decision on how to vote. They found themselves being accosted by the whips, who desperately tried to persuade them to turn around and walk through the correct lobby.