This week the so-called ‘dark arts’ of politics are being demystified, with a look inside the system known as whipping, where MPs are corralled by fair means or foul into voting with their party’s leadership in Parliament.

But in the modern era have things moved more from threats of punishment to pastoral care? And have the days of the 'little black book' filled with politicians misdeeds ready to be used against them, as made famous by Francis Urquhart, the fictional chief whip in the classic TV show House of Cards, been banished to a bygone era, or do whips still hold sway over their flock?

Joining host Alain Tolhurst to discuss all that - and also the changes made by Keir Starmer to his whipping operation last week- are Seb Whale, journalist and author of a new book - The Usual Channels - which unpicks the mysterious world of political whips, as well as Lord Mark Harper, the Conservative peer and former Cabinet minister, who served as Chief Whip in the Commons under David Cameron’s premiership.

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Presented by Alain Tolhurst, produced by Nick Hilton and edited by Ewan Cameron for Podot