Seb Whale

I for one am very excited for Phase Three

Absolute ripper of a column from @patrickmaguire.bsky.social this morning

The Defectors Jumping ship.

The Defectors

Is one side’s headache about to become another party’s migraine?

Latest Usual Channels substack is out now.

open.substack.com/pub/theusual...

I went to one wedding whether the father of the bride went through in granular detail the highlights of each of his daughter's 27 years

This is worse #Trump

It's like the worst father of the bride speech #Trump

Sometimes I wish the internet didn't exist and then Brooklyn Beckham posts his stories and everything makes sense again

A Day In The Life of A Writer In case you wanted to know.

19.01: Check for reviews. Glowing five-star. Wonderful! Am brilliant writer.

19.14: Message from friend. I left you a review on GoodReads xx hope it helps! (starting this weekend)

open.substack.com/pub/whalemig...

This week’s whipping anecdote is the one about the American invasion

Out now: open.substack.com/pub/theusual...

A Short Story Breakfast At El Pica.

Thanks to my writers' group in Seville, which recently released a collection of some of our works, I achieved a goal for 2025 of getting a piece of fiction published. In this case, it's a short story called Breakfast at El Pica:

whalemigration.substack.com/p/a-short-st...

The Christmas Whip Some festive whipping cheer.

The Christmas Whip

A little ditty on David Lightbown, the marauding giant of a Tory whip dressed as Father Christmas.

theusualchannels.substack.com/p/the-christ...

Wish I had the same level of irony as the person who came up with the spelling of the word phonetic

I Read 100 Books in 2025. This is What I Learnt. Falling back in love with a neglected pastime.

‘I looked at my phone and rallied myself. Enough. Fuck this thing and its control on my life, on my attention, on my well-being. I picked up a book and sank into the sofa.’

I Read 100 Books in 2025. This is What I Learnt

open.substack.com/pub/whalemig...

Keir Starmer and I Need to Get Real And deal with the world as it really is.

Keir Starmer and I need to get real

Today you have to put yourself out there and make your case. Again and again and again. But the big question remains: what is it that you want to say?

open.substack.com/pub/theusual...

So funny to me the idea that Liz Truss’ undoing was just the mini-budget and not that she was obviously unsuited to the role of prime minister by basically every conceivable metric

The New Tory Fuck-Up Squad Fun and frolics in opposition.

Inspired by @danbloom1.bsky.social’s brilliant piece on the Tories’ improved output in opposition, I’ve written about the ‘Fuck-Up Squad’, the Tory committee that wreaked havoc against the Jim Callaghan government in the late 70s.

Is the old band back together?

open.substack.com/pub/theusual...

Bested by an ex-Chief Whip When Gavin Williamson got the better of me.

Bested by an ex-Chief Whip

An interview that went wrong.

This week’s The Usual Channels Substack is out now!

open.substack.com/pub/theusual...

How Whips work in the Westminster shadows They're masters of the dark political arts who know the peccadilloes of every MP. Now, a new book reveals how the Whips of Westminster get what they want...

‘The book is a huge hit for any Westminster political junkie, and what makes it work is the feast of political anecdotes that pepper the 500-plus pages.’

So thrilled with Roger Alton’s review of The Usual Channels in @dailymail.co.uk
www.dailymail.co.uk/home/books/a...

Labour's Inferiority Complex And why Johnny reminds me of Jacqui.

‘In my time, the Tories were always better organised, their whipping arrangements more sophisticated, and their whole practice of dealing with the whips’ office was better.’

A piece on Labour’s whipping inferiority complex - and why a new look whips’ office will be up against it

To Strip or Not to Strip? That is the whipping question.

Blair didn’t remove the whip from Corbyn et al. Starmer did.

But who was right?

All this and more in The Usual Channels Substack

Cracking the Code: How I took on the near impenetrable world of the whips’ office.

The first article of The Usual Channels Substack is now live, ft words from my favourite (anonymous) ex-Chief Whip and pen pal

theusualchannels.substack.com/p/cracking-t...

'A serious piece of work': Lord Young reviews 'The Usual Channels' Sebastian Whale has produced a well researched and accurate account of how the whips’ office works

"Whale interviewed a large number of whips and ex-whips, enabling him to write an accurate and sympathetic account"

📚 Lord George Young reviews @sebwhale.bsky.social 'The Usual Channels: Inside the Mysterious World of Political Whips' | @bitebackpublishing.bsky.social
bit.ly/431Mrq7

What are the Usual Channels? A short history of Westminster whipping - Parliament Matters podcast, Episode 108 In this episode, we talk to political journalist Seb Whale about his new book, The Usual Channels, which reveals the hidden world of Westminster’s whips. Seb charts how party discipline has evolved –…

LATEST PODCAST | What are the Usual Channels? A short history of Westminster whipping

We talk to @sebwhale.bsky.social about his new book, pulling back the curtain on one of Westminster's most notorious elements: the Whips.

Listen below 🔽
buff.ly/phTKkve

🌟“A magnificent achievement. Whale has delivered the authoritative book on the most mysterious pillar of Westminster’s power structure – the whips’ office. Packed with insight and colourful anecdotes from inside the Houses of Parliament, this is a political junkie’s dream.” Jack Blanchard

Thank you, Alexandra!

Few better feelings!

A special moment shared with Jeremy Hughes, a close friend and illustrator extraordinaire, who designed the cover.

The Usual Channels is out on Thursday! tinyurl.com/yc2hdkar

Unmasking the 'dark arts' of political whipping

Really enjoyed this week's episode of The Rundown on the 'dark arts' of political whipping with @alaintolhurst.bsky.social @sebwhale.bsky.social & former Govt Chief Whip, Lord Harper. Straight onto the Reading List for #PIED2706 Week 2: Who's Who in Parliament open.spotify.com/episode/1zAe...

Hook, line and sinker: How Brexit betrayed the UK fishing industry Leaving the EU has cost British fishermen fish, money and jobs.

“They’re not going to destabilize the [UK-EU trade deal] just for a few stinky fishermen.”

And so it proved.

@politico.eu

Politics isn’t just speeches and elections; it’s what happens behind closed doors.

📚These five books expose the hidden power players, backroom deals and real decision-makers shaping the UK 👉
www.bitebackpublishing.com/posts/unders...

@tomjonbrown.bsky.social | @sebwhale.bsky.social

alas, I'm afraid you might be disappointed, Norman!

Your columns are worth the subscription price alone, James