The 'three-line whip' - what happens if an MP votes against it and why tonight's fracking vote is significant

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

Prime minister Liz Truss is battling to save her premiership after less than two months in No 10. Her own MPs are now heaping on the pressure after the bulk of her economic policy was sensationally scrapped by new chancellor Jeremy Hunt, with several publicly calling for her to step down.

Ms Truss made a public apology in the Commons this morning, telling MPs: “I am a fighter, not a quitter". However, her Government has been plunged into further chaos after Suella Braverman resigned as Home Secretary and launched a scathing attack on the Prime Minister.

Tonight, MPs will vote on a Labour motion to ban fracking - but Conservative members have been told the vote is 'not a motion on fracking' but a 'confidence motion' in the prime minister. READ MORE: Suella Braverman resignation letter in full as Home Secretary blasts Liz Truss after quitting Conservative deputy chief whip Craig Whittaker warned that this evening's vote is a “100% hard” three-line whip, meaning there could be severe consequences for MPs that vote against the government.

But what does that mean? And what happens to the MPs that go against it? Here's what you need to know. The job of a whip in Parliament is to ensure as many party members as possible vote in the way the government wants.