In a surprise move, the head of the UK government, Liz Truss, withdrew the party whip from herself after she abstained from a crucial vote on fracking. That is as good as sacking an MP. Others who abstained included the former Prime Minister and the recently sacked Finance Minister Kwasi Kwarteng.
The Prime Minister apparently left the Chamber during the vote to run after and persuade her Chief Whip not to resign. In doing so, she missed the vote and was recorded as having abstained.
A spokesman for Number 10, the Prime Minister’s office, said “The Prime Minister is very angry at herself for not supporting Government policy and wanted to send a message to herself that such acts of defiance will not be tolerated.”
However, another spokeswoman for the Prime Minister said “The Prime Minister did not vote for this resolution, because it was wrong and appeared to have been drafted by an idiot.”
A third spokesman for the Prime Minister called for party unity and asked the Prime Minister and the Prime Minister to reconcile their differences.
