Chief Whip of the Labour Party

The Chief Whip of the Labour Party is responsible for administering the whipping system in the party which ensures that members attend and vote in parliament when the party leadership requires a majority vote. Whips, of which two are appointed in the party, a member of the House of Commons and a member of the House of Lords also help to organise their party’s contribution to parliamentary business. On some occasions, the party leadership may allow MP's to have a free vote based on their own conscience rather than party policy, of which the chief whip is not required to direct votes.

This is a list of those people who have served as Chief Whip of the Labour Party in the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

House of Commons

Chief Whip of the Labour Party
Incumbent Nick Brown MP since 6 October 2016
Appointer	Leader of the Labour Party
Inaugural holder	David Shackleton
Formation	circa 1906

House of Lords

Chief Whip of the Labour Party
Incumbent The Lord McAvoy of Rutherglen since 2018
Appointer	Leader of the Labour Party
Inaugural holder	The Lord Muir-Mackenzie and The Earl De La Warr
Formation	1924

Sources

• Chris Cook and Brendan Keith, British Historical Facts 1830-1900, Macmillan, 1975
• David Butler and Gareth Butler, Twentieth-Century British Historical Facts 1900-2000, Macmillan, 2000

See also

• Chief Whip of the Conservative Party
• Chief Whip of the Liberal Democrats