Whipping Yarns: A Liberal Democrat whip's tale - A conversation with Alistair Carmichael MP

News

Whipping Yarns: A Liberal Democrat whip's tale - A conversation with Alistair Carmichael MP - Parliament Matters podcast, Episode 63

30 Dec 2024

In this episode we explore the highs and lows of coalition government through the eyes of Alistair Carmichael, former Deputy Government Chief Whip for the Liberal Democrats during the 2010-2015 coalition. Carmichael reflects candidly on how he personally navigated the seismic challenges of coalition politics, from managing party discipline to reconciling conflicting priorities within the government to providing pastoral support to colleagues.

LISTEN

Alistair Carmichael offers a fascinating account of the inner workings of the coalition government, discussing the monumental challenges faced during his time as Deputy Chief Whip in the coalition government. Reflecting on the dynamic interplay between national, party, and constituency interests, he describes the delicate balance required to maintain stability during a period of economic crisis. The conversation sheds light on the nuanced strategies he employed to hold his party together, including persuading MPs to support controversial policies like the rise in tuition fees, and how he worked to maintain cohesion within a fractious parliamentary party.

He shares vivid memories of key moments in the coalition, including the volcanic ash cloud that disrupted his campaign and the EU budget veto that nearly shattered government unity. He also discusses the pastoral side of his role, describing how he supported MPs through personal and professional crises, even as he juggled the unique challenges of representing one of the UK’s most remote constituencies. His reflections highlight the personal toll of coalition politics but also affirm his belief in the value of entering government to make a meaningful difference

The episode concludes with Carmichael’s thoughts on the legacy of the coalition and lessons for future Liberal Democrats.

← Back to Parliament Matters homepage

Listen on our YouTube channel (captioned)

Our guest

Alistair Carmichael MP

The Rt Hon Alistair Carmichael MP is a Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament, representing the Orkney and Shetland constituency. Since becoming an MP in 2001, Alistair has served in several positions on the Liberal Democrat frontbench, most notably as a Government Whip (2010-13) and as Secretary of State for Scotland (2013-15) during the coalition government. In September 2024, he was elected as the chair of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee.

Transcript

Please note, this transcript is automatically generated. There may consequently be minor errors and the text is not formatted according to our style guide. If you wish to reference or cite the transcript copy below, please first check against the audio version above.

[00:00:00] Intro: You are listening to Parliament Matters, a Hansard Society production, supported by the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust. Learn more at hansardsociety.org.uk/PM.

[00:00:17] Ruth Fox: Welcome to Parliament Matters Whipping Yarns, our series peering into the hidden world of Westminster's whips. I'm Ruth Fox.

[00:00:24] Mark D'Arcy: And I'm Mark D'Arcy for decades, the Lib Dems had hoped to win enough MPs to force their way into government in coalition with one of the bigger parties. In 2010, under Nick Clegg, they finally achieved that dream, only to see the prize turn to ashes in an electoral debacle in 2015.

[00:00:41] Ruth Fox: And one of the few senior Lib Dems to survive the wrath of the voters was Alistair Carmichael, who entered government as Deputy Chief Whip, and soon had to persuade his MPs to abandon key promises to the electorate, in particular on student tuition fees.

[00:00:56] Mark D'Arcy: We began by asking him what it was like after long years as the third party to enter government.

[00:01:03] Alistair Carmichael: I don't think I can really actually sum it up in a single word. I mean, first of all, we had had a run up to the 2010 election campaign that had lasted for about six months. You know, everybody knew it was coming, but you had to wait, and we were in constant campaign mode. We then had the campaign itself.

[00:01:22] You may remember, in the middle of the campaign, we were hit by a cloud of volcanic ash from Iceland. Which, if you were, as I was trying to do, get round 34 inhabited islands in Orkney and Shetland, plus be available to take part in television interviews and debates in Edinburgh and Glasgow, it was exhausting.

[00:01:44] The first memory I have of the period after that election was on the Saturday morning, I was flying out of Orkney to come down here for the first meeting of the parliamentary party, and in Kirkwall Airport, having got my boarding pass, I went and sat down with a cup of coffee, and on a pretty hard, uncomfortable airport seat, fell asleep.

[00:02:07] The airport staff came and sort of woke me up and said, Alistair, everybody else is on the plane, you have to go through security now. So, I got here, and actually, although I had seen the arithmetic, I knew what the outcome of the election was, it was only really when I got to the LGA building in Smith Square that I had to fight my way through the waiting press corps, which is not normal, let me tell you, for Liberal Democrat parliamentary party meetings.

Use the links below to subscribe to the Hansard Society's Parliament Matters podcast on your preferred app, or search for 'Parliament Matters' on whichever podcasting service you use. If you are unable to find our podcast, please email us here.

Apple

YouTube Podcasts

Spotify

More ways to subscribe

Parliament Matters homepage

Latest / Highlights

News / Parliament Matters Bulletin: What’s coming up in Parliament this week? 1-5 December 2025

The House of Commons enters the final two days of its Budget debate, culminating in votes on the Budget motions and presentation of the Finance Bill. The Treasury Committee hears from the OBR, IFS and Resolution Foundation. Peers also devote a full day’s debate to the Budget. The Foreign, Education and Wales Secretaries and Cabinet Office ministers face oral questions from MPs. In the Lords the assisted dying bill continues in Committee. The Sentencing Bill and Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Bill receive further Lords scrutiny. The Hillsborough Law begins clause-by-clause scrutiny in the Commons. West Midlands Police face Select Committee questions about their handling of the football match between Aston Villa and Maccabi Tel Aviv.

News / 101 resolutions and a Finance Bill. How the Budget becomes law - Parliament Matters podcast, Episode 117

It’s Budget week, so we look at what happens after the Chancellor sits down and how the days announcements are converted into the Finance Bill. We speak to Lord Ricketts, Chair of the European Affairs Committee, about whether Parliament is prepared to scrutinise the “dynamic alignment” with EU laws that may emerge from the Government’s reset with Brussels. And we explore the latest twists in the assisted dying bill story, where a marathon battle is looming in the New Year after the Government allocated 10 additional Friday sittings for its scrutiny. Please help us by completing our Listener Survey. It will only take a few minutes.

Publications / Budget 2025: Letter to Chief Whip Jonathan Reynolds MP calling for an ‘Amendment of the Law’ motion

The form of the first Ways and Means motion tabled after the Budget – either an Amendment of the Law motion or an Income Tax (Charge) motion – determines how much scope MPs have to propose amendments when the Budget is translated into the Finance Bill. An Amendment of the Law motion provides broader scope for amendment and was standard practice until it was unilaterally dropped by the then Government in 2017. We have written to the Chief Whip urging the restoration of this procedural practice so that MPs can properly fulfil their constitutional responsibility to scrutinise the nation’s finances and ensure that consideration of the Finance Bill is a genuinely political debate, not merely a technical exercise.

News / Is the House of Lords going slow on the assisted dying bill? - Parliament Matters podcast, Episode 116

In this episode we look at the latest Covid Inquiry report addressing the lack of parliamentary scrutiny during the pandemic and the need for a better system for emergency law-making. With the Budget approaching, we explore how the Commons Speaker, Sir Lindsay Hoyle MP, might discipline ministers who announce policies outside Parliament and why a little-known motion could restrict debate on the Finance Bill. Sir David Beamish assesses whether the flood of amendments to the assisted dying bill risks a filibuster and raises constitutional questions. Finally, we hear from Marsha de Cordova MP and Sandro Gozi MEP on their work to reset UK–EU relations through the Parliamentary Partnership Assembly. Please help us by completing our Listener Survey. It will only take a few minutes.

Blog / The assisted dying bill: Is the number of Lords amendments a parliamentary record?

The assisted dying bill has attracted an extraordinary number of amendments in the House of Lords, prompting questions about whether the volume is unprecedented. This blog examines how its amendment count compares with other bills in the current Session, and what the historical data shows about previous amendment-heavy legislation.