The most famous chief whip is undoubtedly the fictional Francis Urquhart in Michael Dobbs’ novel and TV series House of Cards, who at one point throws a pesky journalist off the roof. So perhaps it is fitting that Simon Hart, the real-life chief whip until very recently, has invited me to meet on the top floor of Waterstones in central London, although he assures me the job is “more HR” and less “dangling people over the parapet over the Thames”.
Hart, 61, has caused a stir in Westminster with the publication of his diaries. Titled Ungovernable, they cover the ups and downs of the last Conservative parliament, from the exit poll on 12 December 2019 to the exit poll on 4 July 2024. Hart, the Tory MP for Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire from 2010 until he lost his seat over the summer, served first as Secretary of State for Wales for Boris Johnson then as Rishi Sunak’s chief whip.
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