Whips try to neutralise row over gay marriage scrutiny arrangements

In the next few hours as the vote on the second reading of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill approaches, the ‘undecideds’ are declaring how they will vote. Yesterday I reported that Tory PPS David Burrowes was likely to defy the three-line whip on the programme motion which makes the arrangements for scrutinising the Bill between second reading and report stage, but was not planning to resign in advance of either abstaining or even voting against, which some of his backbench colleagues plan to do. Normally a member of the government, from PPS to cabinet minister, would be sacked for defying a whip.

But I understand that the whips have been telling PPSs who are unhappy with the programme motion that if they abstain, either formally or by ‘being somewhere else at the time of that vote’, there won’t be the usual consequences.