Westminster's Secret Service
Whips pride themselves on their secrecy and discretion. Reporter Michael Cockerell uncovers their shadowy world and reveals how they operate. How close to reality is the fictional Chief Whip Francis Urquhart, in the drama series House of Cards? Government Whips can make or break ministers and ensure they know all the secrets of the private lives of their fellow MPs. One Tory MP claims that the Whips are a gestapo, but another says they are democracy's unsung heroes - as necessary for Parliament as sewers are for civilisation.
Storyline
Whips pride themselves on their secrecy and discretion. Reporter Michael Cockerell uncovers their shadowy world and reveals how they operate. How close to reality is the fictional Chief Whip Francis Urquhart, in the drama series House of Cards? Government Whips can make or break ministers and ensure they know all the secrets of the private lives of their fellow MPs. One Tory MP claims that the Whips are a gestapo, but another says they are democracy's unsung heroes - as necessary for Parliament as sewers are for civilisation.
Michael Cockerell
Self
Rupert Allason
Self
Joe Ashton
Self
Eric Clarke
Self
Geoffrey Dickens
Self
Stephen Dorrell
Self
Jim Dowd
Self
Iain Duncan Smith
Self
Tim Fortescue
Self
Derek Foster
Self
Tristan Garel-Jones
Self
Will Howie
Self
Nigel Lawson
Self (Archive Footage)
David Lightbown
Self
John Major
Self (Archive Footage)
Gordon McMaster
Self
Robert Mellish
Self
Michael Neubert
Self
Jon Owen Jones
Self
Cecil Parkinson
Self
Ray Powell
Self
John Prescott
Self (Archive Footage)
Hugh Rossi
Self
Edward Short
Self
Norman Tebbit
Self
Margaret Thatcher
Self (Archive Footage)
William Whitelaw
Self
Betty Boothroyd
Self (Archive Footage)
Dennis Skinner
Self (Archive Footage)