THE ROLE OF THE WHIPS
=====================

It's common knowledge in Westminster/Whitehall that the whips -
particularly the government whips - are one of the main means by which
the goings-on in Parliament - especially in its select committees - are
kept within the bounds of what the executive elite decides is
acceptable'. Parliament doesn't really 'scrutinise' the executive at
all. The committees may occasionally give the executive a little bit of
a 'reality check' on what can be got away with, but nothing more than
that.

Every political editor and seasoned lobby journalist likes to make
'I've-got-inside-knowledge'-style references to the 'black arts' of the
whips.

But in fact, how the whips really operate, how they receive their orders
and who from, how they organise, and so on, is not well-known at all. It
is kept very much under wraps. Very few people know. I suspect much of
the lobby doesn't know either. It is a mystery.

Occasionally there is something in the 'quality' press about the
'machinery of government' that mentions the important relationship
between a) 10 Downing Street/the Prime Minister's Office; b) 11 Downing
Street/the Treasury; and c) the Cabinet Office. 9 and 12 Downing Street
don't get much coverage. At 9 Downing Street there is the Judicial
Committee of the Privy Council. At 12 Downing Street there are the
government whips.

Here is a list of the government whips. I got it from
<http://www.parliament.uk/commons/lib/hmgaz.htm>

See what you notice about them.

After the list I'll give an analysis and then my spiel.

LIST OF GOVERNMENT WHIPS
========================

AINSWORTH, Robert Treasury, Lords Commissioners (Whip, House of Commons)
ALLEN, Graham Her Majesty's Household, Vice Chamberlain (Whip, House of
  Commons)
AMOS, Baroness Her Majesty's Household, Baroness in Waiting (Whip, House
  of Lords)  
BETTS, Clive Treasury, Lords Commissioner (Whip, House of Commons)
BRADLEY, Keith Her Majesty's Household, Treasurer (Deputy Chief Whip,
  House of Commons)

CARTER, Lord Her Majesty's Household, Captain of the Honourable Corps of
  Gentlemen-at-Arms (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
CLELLAND, David Treasury, Assistant Whip (House of Commons)
DOWD, Jim Treasury, Lords Commissioners (Whip, House of Commons)
FARRINGTON of RIBBLETON, Baroness Her Majesty's Household, Baroness in
  Waiting (Whip, House of Lords)
HALL, Michael Treasury, Assistant Whip (House of Commons)

HANSON, David Treasury, Assistant Whip (House of Commons)
HILL, Keith Treasury, Assistant Whip (House of Commons)
HOYLE, Lord Her Majesty's Household, Lord in Waiting (Whip, House of
  Lords)
HUGHES, Kevin Treasury, Assistant Whip (House of Commons)
HUNT of Kings Heath, Lord Her Majesty's Household, Lord in Waiting, Whip
  (House of Lords)

JAMIESON, David Treasury, Whip (House of Commons)
KENNEDY, Jane Treasury, Lords Commissioner (Whip, House of Commons)
McAVOY, Thomas Her Majesty's Household, Comptroller (Whip, House of
  Commons)
McGUIRE, Anne Treasury, Assistant Whip (House of Commons)
McINTOSH of HARINGEY, Lord Her Majesty's Household, Captain of the
  Queen's Bodyguard of the Yeomen of the Guard (Deputy Chief Whip, House
  of Lords)

POPE, Greg Treasury, Assistant Whip (House of Commons)
RAMSAY of CARTVALE, Baroness Her Majesty's Household, Baroness in
  Waiting (Whip, House of Lords)
TAYLOR, Rt Hon Ann Treasury, Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury
  (Chief Whip, House of Commons)

ANALYSIS
========

Of the 23 government whips (16 Commons, 7 Lords), NO LESS THAN 10 ARE
MEMBERS OF THE ROYAL HOUSEHOLD!

The figures can be broken down as follows:

Commons: 3 in Royal Household, 13 in Treasury, total 16
Lords:   7 in Royal Household,  0 in Treasury, total 7

Full Whips
----------

The whips include 6 listed as 'assistants'. All are in the Commons, and
all are in the Treasury - none are in the Royal Household. If we exclude
them, we get the following figures:

Commons: 3 in Royal Household, 7 in Treasury, total 10
Lords:   7 in Royal Household, 0 in Treasury, total  7

Total:  10 in Royal Household, 7 in Treasury, total 17

Of the 7 not in the Royal Household, all of whom are in the Commons, 4
are Lord Commissioner in the Treasury.

So we have:

Commons: 3 in RH, 4 Lord C in Treasury, 3 others in Treasury
Lords:  all 7 in RH

Whips in the Royal Household
----------------------------

Let us look first at the 3 members of the Royal Household who are whips
in the Commons. These are their posts:

Vice Chamberlain of the Royal Household
Comptroller of the Royal Household
Treasurer of the Royal Household (who is also the Deputy Chief Whip)(1).

And now look at the 7 members of the Royal Household who are whips in
the Lords. These are their posts:

2 Lords-in-Waiting
3 Baronesses-in-Waiting
1 Captain of the Queen's Bodyguard of the Yeomen of the Guard
                                                (Deputy Chief Whip)
1 Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (Chief Whip)

The Chief Whips and Deputy Chief Whips
--------------------------------------

Apart from the Chief Whip in the Commons, who is Ann Taylor, a career
politician, the Commons Deputy Chief Whip and the Lords Deputy Chief
Whip and Chief Whip are all members of the Royal Household.

They are, respectively, the Treasurer of the Royal Household, the
Captain of the Queen's Bodyguard of the Yeomen of the Guard, and the
Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms.

Between them, they concern themselves with looking after the QUEEN'S
MONEY AND THE QUEEN'S PERSONAL ARMED SECURITY. (2)

They also play an important role in controlling Parliament on behalf of
the executive elite.

COMMENT
=======

I have suggested here before that the fact that important government
whips are 'formally' members of the Royal Household may be rather
significant.

I am now convinced that that is the case.

Noting that the government whips are 10 members of the Royal Household
plus 7 people from the Treasury (the latter including 4 Lords
Commissioner), one can speculate that perhaps the 'triangular'
relationship between 10 Downing St./the PMO, 11 Downing St/the Treasury,
and the Cabinet Office, should better be described as a machine in which
an important part is played by the whips based at 12 Downing Street, the
majority of whom are also members of - and one should imagine, reporting
to and taking instructions from - the Royal Household.

One Chief Whip and the two Deputy Chief Whips - three of the four people
who, one imagines, are in a position to convene whips' meetings and to
whip the whips themselves into line - have clear responsibilities within
the Royal Household: advancing and defending the financial interests and
the armed security of the head of dynasty.

Notes

1) Readers may recall the ousting of Thatcher in 1990. The key decision
was allegedly taken at a meeting at Tristan Garel-Jones's (sp?) house.
There were 'I-ve-got-inside-knowledge'-style references in the press to
'men in grey suits'. Garel-Jones was, IIRC, the Deputy Chief Whip. If he
was, then he was also the Treasurer of the Royal Household.

2) The Chief Whip and Deputy Chief Whip in the Lords probably do not
take *sole* responsibility for running the Queen's personal armed
security. However, I do think they are a mechanism by which
considerations of the Queen's security are imposed as paramount. They
will obviously be close to the coterie of military officers which
surrounds the monarch. Meanwhile, the fact that the Deputy Chief Whip in
the Commons - an important position - is held by the Treasurer of the
Royal Household can be left to speak for itself. Here we have the head
of the family making sure that the Windsors' financial interests are
asserted.

3) One can doubtless study the Tory Chief Whips as such. Is there a
specific gentlemen's club with which they are associated, like the
Carlton maybe? Maybe someone else can comment on this angle.

(Please could anyone following-up to this article from uk.politics.misc
or uk.politics.parliament leave alt.conspiracy.princess-diana in the
list of groups posted to, as this relates to topics that have been
discussed there. Thanks).
--
banana

No significance should be attached to the formal job titles of Government
whips involving the Royal Household. The title is formal and reflects the
history of the government as arising from personal appointments of the
sovereign.

One of the whips has the responsibility to write a weekly report on
Parliamentary proceedings which is sent personally to the Queen. When
Margaret Beckett had this job in the mid-1970s, she reckoned that the
Queen could learn about the official stuff from the newspapers or from
Hansard (the verbatim report), so she included all the gossip in her
reports. The Queen was reportedly amused, Palace officials were not.

On the day of the State Opening of Parliament, one of the whips must
be 'imprisoned' in Buckingham Palace as a hostage against the Queen's
safe return.

In article <david-2207991827470...@election.demon.co.uk>, posted to
alt.conspiracy.princess-diana and stamped at '18:27:47' on 'Thu, 22 Jul
1999', David Boothroyd <da...@election.demon.co.uk> writes:

Don't be silly David. If somebody is a member of the Royal Household, it
means something. Everybody in Westminster/Whitehall knows that.

Yes, it is formal, yes, it reflects what you say, however that does not
mean no significance should be attached.

I would remind you of the involvement of Basil Smallpeice, financial
adviser to the monarch, who was involved in the coup plotting of 1975,
in particular the Cunard affair. The Royal Household keeps its finger in
the pie of government, without a shadow of a doubt. Doesn't run every
detail of course. Keeps informed when it needs to be. Can put its foot
down when it wants to.

The set of politician's memoirs that is interesting regarding how things
really work is...a very rare set of politician's memoirs. Richard
Crossman's, for example.

Yes, an amusing little thing.
--
banana

</html>
On Thu, 22 Jul 1999 21:10:30 +0100, banana

Would you give a little better bibliographic cite ?

Publisher:

Year :

Place of publication:  I will assume London.

Thx.

Oh, btw, I got the UK parliament live coveage on
the web page last week.  Been waiting quite a
while for that.  Still haven't figured how to tune in
the Lords.  Seems my receipts are the commons.

Include URL suggestions here: ______________ :-)

Al

<a href="http://members.home.com/godsbrain">G.O.D.S.B.R.A.I.N.</a>
<br>

In article <3799839f.43736960@news>, posted to alt.conspiracy.princess-
diana and stamped at '20:59:21' on 'Thu, 22 Jul 1999', Alvin H. White

I've got the condensed version (!).

Richard Crossman, THE CROSSMAN DIARIES: SELECTIONS FROM THE DIARIES OF A
CABINET MINISTER 1964-70, ISBN 0 417 02670 6, ed. and with an
introduction by Anthony Howard, condensed edition ([place?]: Magnum
1979, reissued London: Methuen, 1985). Originally published in three
volumes as Richard Crossman, THE DIARIES OF A CABINET MINISTER, 1975,
1976, and 1977. Phew!

I haven't done that type of thing yet. What's the URL for the Lords?
(It'll give me an excuse for getting off my butt to configure some live
video-feed software :-) ).

Regards,
--
banana

: In article <kRLQdDAPBol3E...@borve.demon.co.uk>, posted to
: alt.conspiracy.princess-diana and stamped at '03:22:07' on 'Thu, 22 Jul
: 1999', banana <banana@REMOVE_THIS.borve.demon.co.uk> writes:
:
: >THE ROLE OF THE WHIPS
: >=====================
: >
: >It's common knowledge in Westminster/Whitehall that the whips -
: >particularly the government whips - are one of the main means by which
: >the goings-on in Parliament - especially in its select committees - are
: >kept within the bounds of what the executive elite decides is
: >acceptable'. Parliament doesn't really 'scrutinise' the executive at
: >all. The committees may occasionally give the executive a little bit of
: >a 'reality check' on what can be got away with, but nothing more than
: >that.
: >
: >Every political editor and seasoned lobby journalist likes to make
: >'I've-got-inside-knowledge'-style references to the 'black arts' of the
: >whips.
: >
: >But in fact, how the whips really operate, how they receive their orders
: >and who from, how they organise, and so on, is not well-known at all. It
: >is kept very much under wraps. Very few people know. I suspect much of
: >the lobby doesn't know either. It is a mystery.
: >
: >Occasionally there is something in the 'quality' press about the
: >'machinery of government' that mentions the important relationship
: >between a) 10 Downing Street/the Prime Minister's Office; b) 11 Downing
: >Street/the Treasury; and c) the Cabinet Office. 9 and 12 Downing Street
: >don't get much coverage. At 9 Downing Street there is the Judicial
: >Committee of the Privy Council. At 12 Downing Street there are the
: >government whips.
: >
: >Here is a list of the government whips. I got it from
: ><http://www.parliament.uk/commons/lib/hmgaz.htm>
: >
: >See what you notice about them.
: >
: >After the list I'll give an analysis and then my spiel.
: >
: >
: >LIST OF GOVERNMENT WHIPS
: >========================
: >
: >AINSWORTH, Robert Treasury, Lords Commissioners (Whip, House of Commons)
: >ALLEN, Graham Her Majesty's Household, Vice Chamberlain (Whip, House of
: >  Commons)
: >AMOS, Baroness Her Majesty's Household, Baroness in Waiting (Whip, House
: >  of Lords)  
: >BETTS, Clive Treasury, Lords Commissioner (Whip, House of Commons)
: >BRADLEY, Keith Her Majesty's Household, Treasurer (Deputy Chief Whip,
: >  House of Commons)
: >
: >CARTER, Lord Her Majesty's Household, Captain of the Honourable Corps of
: >  Gentlemen-at-Arms (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
: >CLELLAND, David Treasury, Assistant Whip (House of Commons)
: >DOWD, Jim Treasury, Lords Commissioners (Whip, House of Commons)
: >FARRINGTON of RIBBLETON, Baroness Her Majesty's Household, Baroness in
: >  Waiting (Whip, House of Lords)
: >HALL, Michael Treasury, Assistant Whip (House of Commons)
: >
: >HANSON, David Treasury, Assistant Whip (House of Commons)
: >HILL, Keith Treasury, Assistant Whip (House of Commons)
: >HOYLE, Lord Her Majesty's Household, Lord in Waiting (Whip, House of
: >  Lords)
: >HUGHES, Kevin Treasury, Assistant Whip (House of Commons)
: >HUNT of Kings Heath, Lord Her Majesty's Household, Lord in Waiting, Whip
: >  (House of Lords)
: >
: >JAMIESON, David Treasury, Whip (House of Commons)
: >KENNEDY, Jane Treasury, Lords Commissioner (Whip, House of Commons)
: >McAVOY, Thomas Her Majesty's Household, Comptroller (Whip, House of
: >  Commons)
: >McGUIRE, Anne Treasury, Assistant Whip (House of Commons)
: >McINTOSH of HARINGEY, Lord Her Majesty's Household, Captain of the
: >  Queen's Bodyguard of the Yeomen of the Guard (Deputy Chief Whip, House
: >  of Lords)
: >
: >POPE, Greg Treasury, Assistant Whip (House of Commons)
: >RAMSAY of CARTVALE, Baroness Her Majesty's Household, Baroness in
: >  Waiting (Whip, House of Lords)
: >TAYLOR, Rt Hon Ann Treasury, Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury
: >  (Chief Whip, House of Commons)
: >
: >
: >ANALYSIS
: >========
: >
: >Of the 23 government whips (16 Commons, 7 Lords), NO LESS THAN 10 ARE
: >MEMBERS OF THE ROYAL HOUSEHOLD!
: >
: >The figures can be broken down as follows:
: >
: >Commons: 3 in Royal Household, 13 in Treasury, total 16
: >Lords:   7 in Royal Household,  0 in Treasury, total 7
: >
: >
: >Full Whips
: >----------
: >
: >The whips include 6 listed as 'assistants'. All are in the Commons, and
: >all are in the Treasury - none are in the Royal Household. If we exclude
: >them, we get the following figures:
: >
: >Commons: 3 in Royal Household, 7 in Treasury, total 10
: >Lords:   7 in Royal Household, 0 in Treasury, total  7
: >
: >Total:  10 in Royal Household, 7 in Treasury, total 17
: >
: >
: >Of the 7 not in the Royal Household, all of whom are in the Commons, 4
: >are Lord Commissioner in the Treasury.
: >
: >So we have:
: >
: >Commons: 3 in RH, 4 Lord C in Treasury, 3 others in Treasury
: >Lords:  all 7 in RH
: >
: >
: >Whips in the Royal Household
: >----------------------------
: >
: >Let us look first at the 3 members of the Royal Household who are whips
: >in the Commons. These are their posts:
: >
: >Vice Chamberlain of the Royal Household
: >Comptroller of the Royal Household
: >Treasurer of the Royal Household (who is also the Deputy Chief Whip)(1).
: >
: >
: >And now look at the 7 members of the Royal Household who are whips in
: >the Lords. These are their posts:
: >
: >2 Lords-in-Waiting
: >3 Baronesses-in-Waiting
: >1 Captain of the Queen's Bodyguard of the Yeomen of the Guard
: >                                                (Deputy Chief Whip)
: >1 Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (Chief Whip)
: >
: >
: >The Chief Whips and Deputy Chief Whips
: >--------------------------------------
: >
: >Apart from the Chief Whip in the Commons, who is Ann Taylor, a career
: >politician, the Commons Deputy Chief Whip and the Lords Deputy Chief
: >Whip and Chief Whip are all members of the Royal Household.
: >
: >They are, respectively, the Treasurer of the Royal Household, the
: >Captain of the Queen's Bodyguard of the Yeomen of the Guard, and the
: >Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms.
: >
: >Between them, they concern themselves with looking after the QUEEN'S
: >MONEY AND THE QUEEN'S PERSONAL ARMED SECURITY. (2)
: >
: >They also play an important role in controlling Parliament on behalf of
: >the executive elite.
: >
: >
: >COMMENT
: >=======
: >
: >I have suggested here before that the fact that important government
: >whips are 'formally' members of the Royal Household may be rather
: >significant.
: >
: >I am now convinced that that is the case.
: >
: >Noting that the government whips are 10 members of the Royal Household
: >plus 7 people from the Treasury (the latter including 4 Lords
: >Commissioner), one can speculate that perhaps the 'triangular'
: >relationship between 10 Downing St./the PMO, 11 Downing St/the Treasury,
: >and the Cabinet Office, should better be described as a machine in which
: >an important part is played by the whips based at 12 Downing Street, the
: >majority of whom are also members of - and one should imagine, reporting
: >to and taking instructions from - the Royal Household.
: >
: >One Chief Whip and the two Deputy Chief Whips - three of the four people
: >who, one imagines, are in a position to convene whips' meetings and to
: >whip the whips themselves into line - have clear responsibilities within
: >the Royal Household: advancing and defending the financial interests and
: >the armed security of the head of dynasty.
: >
: >
: >
: >Notes
: >
: >1) Readers may recall the ousting of Thatcher in 1990. The key decision
: >was allegedly taken at a meeting at Tristan Garel-Jones's (sp?) house.
: >There were 'I-ve-got-inside-knowledge'-style references in the press to
: >'men in grey suits'. Garel-Jones was, IIRC, the Deputy Chief Whip. If he
: >was, then he was also the Treasurer of the Royal Household.
: >
: >2) The Chief Whip and Deputy Chief Whip in the Lords probably do not
: >take *sole* responsibility for running the Queen's personal armed
: >security. However, I do think they are a mechanism by which
: >considerations of the Queen's security are imposed as paramount. They
: >will obviously be close to the coterie of military officers which
: >surrounds the monarch. Meanwhile, the fact that the Deputy Chief Whip in
: >the Commons - an important position - is held by the Treasurer of the
: >Royal Household can be left to speak for itself. Here we have the head
: >of the family making sure that the Windsors' financial interests are
: >asserted.

It must be stressed that the affiliations of these Whips with the
Household is strictly nominal and of no practical significance whatever.
The Commons whips are MPs,rotated into or out of those jobs and other
Government jobs without serious thought for the Household.The actual
management of the Household treasury has hardly anything to do with
these men...fulltime non-politicians handle it.The three key functionaries
are the Keeper of the Privy Purse and Tresurer to the Queen;the
Comptroller in the Lord Chamberlain's Office;and the Master of the
Household.Above them are the key dignitaries of the Court...the Lord
Steward of the Household,the Lord Chamberlain of the Household(the only
one of these with hands-on daily duties),and the Master of the Horse.
These offices were once filled politically,but not for generations.
They in turn assumed,centuries ago,most duties of the Great Officers
of State,the Lord High Steward,the Lord Great Chamberlain(in this case
the only one of these offices still regularly filled),and the Lord High
Constable(whose other duties have fallen to the Earl Marshal).

As for the Lords whips,the actual courtiers (Gentlemen-at-arms and
Yeomen of the Guard) have a politician rotated in as their nominal
leader,but as a rule they and those politicians go about their different
duties entirely separately.

: >(Please could anyone following-up to this article from ...

read more »

On Thu, 22 Jul 1999 18:27:47 +0000, da...@election.demon.co.uk (David
Boothroyd) posted:

Really? And who plays 'cinders'?

kjc

In article <qNLl3.642$Gu2.17...@iad-read.news.verio.net>, posted to
alt.conspiracy.princess-diana and stamped at '21:10:46' on 'Thu, 22 Jul
1999', Louis Epstein <l...@put.com> writes:

<snip>

Yes, you are right that - in the case of the Commons anyway - they are
merely politicians, but that does not mean their relationship with the
Household is nominal only. I don't believe it is. Are you saying they
don't have meetings with their superiors in the Household? Or that if
they do, they simply pass the time of day and talk about the weather?
They will report to their superiors in the Household and they will get
their instructions. Moreover, they will be able to communicate to the
government and to the governing party, when necessary, the wishes of the
'Household', i.e. of the head of the Royal House, in such a way as to
brook little dissent. The idea that the Queen relates to the government
as if she were just some automaton who can just about hold a pen, is
rubbish.

Thanks for this!

As well as the Vice Chamberlain of the Royal Household, the chief/deputy
chief whips include the Comptroller of the Royal Household and the
Treasurer of the Royal Household. One would guess that they report to
the first two of the key functionaries you mention.

Do you know BTW anything about the current Earl Marshal, the Duke of
Norfolk's relationship with a) David Spedding, the outgoing head of SIS,
and/or b) Opus Dei?

Whom do the chief and deputy chief Lords whips (the captains of those
two armed units of the Court) report to?

Is there a difference between the Court and the Household?

Also, while I am at it, do you know why the official seat of the monarch
is at St. James's Palce; where exactly in St. James's Palace it is; what
it means; and why it is there?
--
banana

</html>
On Thu, 22 Jul 1999 22:16:26 +0100, banana

Thanks for a long, complete, answer to my few
keystrokes question.  I'll owe you at least two
or three lines of typing.  Thanks.

Re: Live coverage of the UK Parliament banana writes:

From your side it seems http://www.cctproductions.co.uk/

I notice, now that I look at it a second time at least, that they
seem to be concentrating on the commons in this first venture.
They mention installing camera's in the Lords but there is no
reference as to when they might have live coverage.

The URL to what is mostly the commons, possibly special
events excepted, from my side seems to be:

     http://WWW.TVONTHEWEB.COM/channels/parliament/index.html
<br>

Incidently, I heard a few years ago that the Canadian's
were making some attempts to do some parlimentary
output in at least two languages because of their French
interests.

I just, yesterday, signed up on something that is now on my
page as GOTOWORLD involved with which is Language Force
who demoed at a North American speech tech conference last
year and now say they are planning transparent multilingual
world wide.  I'll give them a little prayer for their success in a
somewhat difficult but needed foundation to the new world.

Thx

Al

<a href="http://members.home.com/godsbrain">G.O.D.S.B.R.A.I.N.</a>
<br>

: In article <qNLl3.642$Gu2.17...@iad-read.news.verio.net>, posted to
: alt.conspiracy.princess-diana and stamped at '21:10:46' on 'Thu, 22 Jul
: 1999', Louis Epstein <l...@put.com> writes:
:
: >: In article <kRLQdDAPBol3E...@borve.demon.co.uk>, posted to
: >: alt.conspiracy.princess-diana and stamped at '03:22:07' on 'Thu, 22 Jul
: >: 1999', banana <banana@REMOVE_THIS.borve.demon.co.uk> writes:
: >:
: >: >THE ROLE OF THE WHIPS
: >: >=====================
:
: <snip>
:
: >It must be stressed that the affiliations of these Whips with the
: >Household is strictly nominal and of no practical significance whatever.
: >The Commons whips are MPs,rotated into or out of those jobs and other
: >Government jobs without serious thought for the Household.The actual
: >management of the Household treasury has hardly anything to do with
: >these men...fulltime non-politicians handle it.
:
: Yes, you are right that - in the case of the Commons anyway - they are
: merely politicians, but that does not mean their relationship with the
: Household is nominal only. I don't believe it is. Are you saying they
: don't have meetings with their superiors in the Household? Or that if
: they do, they simply pass the time of day and talk about the weather?

Yes.For practical purposes,their superiors are the Parliamentary Secretary
to the Treasury and the Leader of the House of Commons...not those who
are over them in the Household chart,who they rarely meet.(The Vice-
Chamberlain has the duty of being symbolically held hostage at the
Palace on State Opening days).

Likewise,the other Whips are NOMINALLY Junior Lords of the Treasury,
but they never in fact sit at a table with the First Lord(Prime Minister)
and Second Lord(Chancellor of the Exchequer) to jointly discharge
the office of Lord High Treasurer...they have no Treasury responsibilities
at all,just as the "Household" Whips have no Household responsibilities.

: They will report to their superiors in the Household and they will get
: their instructions.

The only superiors whose instructions they heed are the politicians in
the Government.

: Moreover, they will be able to communicate to the
: government and to the governing party, when necessary, the wishes of the
: 'Household', i.e. of the head of the Royal House, in such a way as to
: brook little dissent. The idea that the Queen relates to the government
: as if she were just some automaton who can just about hold a pen, is
: rubbish.

I certainly believe that the politicians OUGHT to obey the Monarch's
every whim,but the practice falls FAR short of this.HM is not
consulted about who among the Whips is given a strictly-nominal
Household job and who a strictly-nominal Treasury job.

: >The three key functionaries
: >are the Keeper of the Privy Purse and Treasurer to the Queen;the
: >Comptroller in the Lord Chamberlain's Office;and the Master of the
: >Household.Above them are the key dignitaries of the Court...the Lord
: >Steward of the Household,the Lord Chamberlain of the Household(the only
: >one of these with hands-on daily duties),and the Master of the Horse.
: >These offices were once filled politically,but not for generations.
: >They in turn assumed,centuries ago,most duties of the Great Officers
: >of State,the Lord High Steward,the Lord Great Chamberlain(in this case
: >the only one of these offices still regularly filled),and the Lord High
: >Constable(whose other duties have fallen to the Earl Marshal).
:
: Thanks for this!
:
: As well as the Vice Chamberlain of the Royal Household, the chief/deputy
: chief whips include the Comptroller of the Royal Household and the
: Treasurer of the Royal Household. One would guess that they report to
: the first two of the key functionaries you mention.

Only someone cracked enough to be a conspiracy theorist would guess that.

: Do you know BTW anything about the current Earl Marshal, the Duke of
: Norfolk's relationship with a) David Spedding, the outgoing head of SIS,
: and/or b) Opus Dei?
:
: >As for the Lords whips,the actual courtiers (Gentlemen-at-arms and
: >Yeomen of the Guard) have a politician rotated in as their nominal
: >leader,but as a rule they and those politicians go about their
: >different duties entirely separately.
:
: Whom do the chief and deputy chief Lords whips (the captains of those
: two armed units of the Court) report to?

The Leader of the Lords.

: Is there a difference between the Court and the Household?
:
: Also, while I am at it, do you know why the official seat of the monarch
: is at St. James's Palce; where exactly in St. James's Palace it is; what
: it means; and why it is there?

"seat" in the sense of "country seat"...the building is the nominal
London base of the Sovereign,to which Ambassadors are accredited
("the Court of St. James's") though since the 19th century the
chief Royal residence has been Buckingham Palace.