Labour Chief Whip Nick Brown (above) plans to spring a series of ambushes on the PM
Jeremy Corbyn is plotting to use parliamentary guerrilla tactics to bring down the Government by ‘driving a wedge’ between No 10 and its DUP allies.
Labour Chief Whip Nick Brown plans to spring a series of ambushes to exploit the loss of Mrs May’s majority in her June Election disaster, including mounting surprise votes on Wednesdays and Thursdays when the Ulster MPs like to be returning to Northern Ireland.
But the plotting is being tracked by Brown’s Tory opposite number, Gavin Williamson, as MPs prepare to return to the Commons in a week’s time.
The two Chief Whips – whose job is to win votes at all costs by bullying and cajoling MPs through the division lobbies – could not be more different.
‘Bruiser’ Brown entered Parliament in 1983, the year when Labour was buried under Margaret Thatcher’s landslide, and is now enjoying his third spell as Chief Whip.
Aged 67, Brown is nearly three decades older – and about five stone heavier – than 41-year-old Williamson. During Tony Blair’s time as Prime Minister he gained a reputation as Gordon Brown’s most formidable ‘outrider’, as the then-Chancellor schemed his way towards No 10.
Williamson, who has spent just seven years in the Commons, became known as the ‘baby-faced assassin’ for his hard-headed approach to business during his career in the potteries industry.
He keeps a pet tarantula in a glass box on his Commons desk, calling him Cronus after the Greek god who castrated his father and ate his children.
Williamson was rewarded with the Chief Whip’s job after helping Mrs May to see off the threat from Boris Johnson and Michael Gove in last year’s Tory leadership contest.
Mrs May lost 13 seats in June’s Election, forcing her to strike a deal with Ulster’s ten DUP MPs to ensure a working majority on ‘confidence’ measures.
It means only seven Tory rebels are required to overturn the Government’s majority: in a subsequent General Election it would then only take a tiny 1.6 per cent swing for Labour to become the largest party.
Gavin Williamson (left), who has spent just seven years in the Commons, became known as the ‘baby-faced assassin’ for his hard-headed approach to business during his career in the potteries industry. He keeps a pet tarantula in a glass box on his Commons desk
Tory MPs have been told to expect to spend most weekday evenings when the Commons is sitting within eight minutes’ ‘brisk walk’ of the chamber, giving them enough time to leave nearby pubs and restaurants when the division bell sounds. They have also been warned that foreign trips are less likely to be approved following the collapse of gentlemen’s agreements with Labour, under which they would be given advance warning of votes and allowed to ‘pair off’ absent MPs from opposing sides.
It could be the most tempestuous and nerve-racking parliamentary session since Jim Callaghan’s Labour government – which fell on a vote of no confidence in 1979.
One Labour source said: ‘It is one thing to hold a shell-shocked party together in the six weeks after a tight Election. But the Tories will get tired.
‘The DUP will get fed up of having to stay in London – particularly if we call votes on Wednesdays and Thursdays.
Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn (pictured talking to pensioners in Scotland on Saturday) is plotting to use parliamentary guerrilla tactics to bring down the Government by ‘driving a wedge’ between No 10 and its DUP allies
‘Splits will emerge. Some Tories will say ‘enough’, and resign to take jobs in the City, opening up by-election chances.’
The source added: ‘Nick is a bruiser and knows his way around. He is a Premiership player; compared to him, Williamson is Championship level at best.’
One Tory MP said: ‘The pairing deals have completely broken down. We are going to have to be within striking distance of the House from Monday to Wednesday, and quite a few Thursdays too.’
But he added: ‘Everyone respects and fears Gavin. He is much, much tougher than he looks.’
The main Commons battleground is expected to focus on the EU Withdrawal Bill, which receives its Second Reading early next month.
Labour is expected to force votes on the so-called Henry VIII powers, which the Government hopes to use to alter the legislation with minimal parliamentary scrutiny.