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Oliver Wright
May 08, 2015
David Cameron is on course to win an overall - albeit incredibly slim - majority for the Conservatives.
Such a victory, sensational given the polls all pointed to a hung parliament, could be a double-edged sword for the prime minister-elect, as it means he will have to rely on Tory backbenchers toeing the line in order to get his legislative programme through the Commons.
Quite simply, there is no coalition partner this time, and no Nick Clegg to whip Lib Dem MPs into advancing the government's agenda.
And Cameron might just recall that a lot of his own MPs are quite, quite intractable. Here are some of the dinosaurs roaring back into life now the Tories are poised to go it alone in government...
Philip Davies
Davies has objected to gay marriage, banning smoking in cars with children, and sending books to prisoners. He is basically un-whippable and will be a huge thorn in David Cameron’s side.
Bill Cash
A fervent eurosceptic and serial rebel, Cash led the Maastricht rebellion which nearly toppled John Major in the 1990s. In the last parliament he rebelled 82 times and we should expect the same again. He along with other Tory rebels will now hold David Cameron’s feet to the fire in terms of an EU referendum. This will make life very uncomfortable for the re-elected Prime Minister.
Philip Hollobone
The Kettering MP Philip Hollobone has the dubious honour of being the most rebellious MP in the House of Commons over the last five years. He has defied the government with a grand total of 237 votes out of 1,191 since 2010, a total of 19.9 per cent.
David Davis
There is no love lost between David Davis and David Cameron ever since the two fought for the party leadership in 2005. A famous libertarian he will object to a whole range of policies likely to be pursued by the new Government.
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