Andrew Bridgen joins a growing number of whipless MPs

They outnumber the Liberal Democrats in the House of Commons, as Sean O’Grady explains

Andrew Bridgen has been MP for North West Leicestershire since 2010 (PA)

If they were a political party, those MPs who have had their party whip withdrawn would be the fourth largest group in the House of Commons.

Andrew Bridgen has become the 15th member of that group after an inaccurate and highly offensive tweet about Covid vaccination. “As one consultant cardiologist said to me,” he wrote, “this is the biggest crime against humanity since the Holocaust.” Bridgen’s remarks were the latest in a series of misfortunes he’s brought on himself, and he is currently on a five-day suspension from parliament over a previous offence of failing to declare a lobbying conflict of interest. His views were condemned by Rishi Sunak at Prime Minister’s Questions, and chief whip Simon Hart said: “As a nation we should be very proud of what has been achieved through the vaccine programme. The vaccine is the best defence against Covid that we have. Misinformation about the vaccine causes harm and costs lives."

Bridgen has crossed a line and seems likely to face a lengthy period in political limbo. Removing the whip means an MP no longer represents a party in parliament, though they aren’t necessarily also removed from the list of party members. A party will normally maintain contact with a whipless former colleague with a view to possible rehabilitation.