April 15, 2015

Finest Hour 123, Summer 2004

Page 48

By Paul H. Courtenay

COLLECTION OF JOHN FROST

John Frost, of New Barnet, Herts., the world’s foremost newspaper collector and Finest Hour’s cuttings editor, has acquired what he believes is the first newspaper with Churchill on the front page: “Last year my son Andrew and I purchased a large volume of the London Daily Mirror for January-February 1904. It cost £50. Imagine our surprise to find inside a complete original edition for February 4th, 1904, with WSC filling most of the front page. As far as we are aware it was the first time he was featured in picture on the front page of a British newspaper. The Mirror had first appeared only three months earlier, and is still going strong.”

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The drawing, by S. M. Fitzgerald, was taken after a well-known contemporary photograph of the young Member of Parliament for Oldham. What was then called The Daily Illustrated Mirror entitled the picture, “Mr. Winston Churchill Gets His Way,” and noted that “The Prime Minister has agreed that Mr. Winston Churchill should receive daily the Ministerial Whip. This favour was granted by Mr. Balfour at Mr. Churchill’s own request. He is said to have pouted till he got it.” The story continues on page 3.

Senior Editor Paul Courtenay comments, “I have never heard of the “Ministerial Whip’’ and am pretty sure it doesn’t exist nowadays. The “normal” Whip is a form of Party discipline in Parliament. To “take the Whip” means to submit oneself to the Party line, even though this might cut across one’s preferences from time to time. Thus one would be expected to vote for Party policy and would suffer if one broke ranks. The benefit is really expectation of Ministerial office. So, if one is an ex-Minister not far from retirement, one can defy the Whips with relative impunity (unless seeking re-nomination by one’s constituency prior to another election).

“MPs are notified by their Party Whips of the importance of taking part in a Parliamentary vote by means of underlining. A ‘one-line Whip’ is not very serious and one could probably skip the vote without much reaction. But a ‘three-line Whip’ is another matter, and means that one’s presence and vote is essential.

Churchill would have taken the Conservative Whip in 1901. I can only assume that the Ministerial Whip was confined to Government Ministers under the same principle; I suppose that receipt of this Whip while not a Minister would have been very unusual. He must have sought this Whip to ensure that he was recognised as an exceptionally loyal Conservative MP and as a means of being fully informed of Government intentions.”

Not loyal for long: On 31 May 1904, Churchill entered the Chamber of the House of Commons, stood for a moment at the Bar, looked briefly at both the Government and Opposition benches, walked down the aisle, bowed to the Speaker, turned sharply to his right and sat down next to Lloyd George on the Opposition benches, in a seat that his father had occupied when in opposition.