In the past, chief whips are said to have stored their subject’s secrets in a black notebook to use against unruly MPs to win government votes.
But the government's current chief whip, Gavin Williamson, has an entirely new method to ensure his party's MPs toe the line - a tarantula named Cronus...
Theresa May's new eight legged enforcer is Cronus the giant spider
Chief Whip Gavin Williamson keeps a one-year-old spider named Cronus (above) on his desk in the Whip’s office. Credit: Bob Krist
Kate McCann, Senior Political Correspondent
19 November 2016
The Telegraph
Downing Street has Larry the cat; the Foreign Office has rival pu ssy Palmerston; but Theresa May’s chief whip has taken a different approach – he has a tarantula named Cronus for a pet.
Gavin Williamson keeps the one-year-old spider on his desk in the Whip’s office, where the eight-legged creature regularly terrifies MPs into toeing the party line.
Chief Whip Gavin Williamson leaves Number 10 Downing Street. Credit: Getty Images/Getty Images
Cronus (named after the Greek god who came to power by castrating his own father before eating his own children to ensure they wouldn’t oust him) was dubbed “a novel take on the little black book” by one Tory MP.
Previous chief whips are said to have stored their subject’s secrets in a black notebook to use against unruly MPs to win government votes.
Mr Williamson told the Telegraph: “Everyone is obsessed with Palmerston and Larry the cat, but in the Whip’s office we have a proper pet.
"I’ve had Cronus since he was a spiderling, so I have a very paternal sort of approach. It’s very much the same sort of love and care that I give to my spider as I give to all MPs.”
A number of senior Conservative MPs have expressed their unease at the hairy pet, but the chief whip said he has never had any complaints.
Gavin Williamson keeps a spider as a pet. Credit: AFP/Getty Images/AFP/Getty Images
“I always point out to people that more people die of falling off horses than are actually killed by tarantulas so it’s very rare,” he added.
The spider lives in a glass-sided tank and travels back to Mr Williamson’s constituency during recess.
The chief whip added: “Cronus is a perfect example of an incredibly clean, ruthless killer... absolutely fascinating to rear.”
Theresa May's new eight legged enforcer is Cronus the giant spider
But the government's current chief whip, Gavin Williamson, has an entirely new method to ensure his party's MPs toe the line - a tarantula named Cronus...
Theresa May's new eight legged enforcer is Cronus the giant spider
Chief Whip Gavin Williamson keeps a one-year-old spider named Cronus (above) on his desk in the Whip’s office. Credit: Bob Krist
Kate McCann, Senior Political Correspondent
19 November 2016
The Telegraph
Downing Street has Larry the cat; the Foreign Office has rival pu ssy Palmerston; but Theresa May’s chief whip has taken a different approach – he has a tarantula named Cronus for a pet.
Gavin Williamson keeps the one-year-old spider on his desk in the Whip’s office, where the eight-legged creature regularly terrifies MPs into toeing the party line.
Chief Whip Gavin Williamson leaves Number 10 Downing Street. Credit: Getty Images/Getty Images
Cronus (named after the Greek god who came to power by castrating his own father before eating his own children to ensure they wouldn’t oust him) was dubbed “a novel take on the little black book” by one Tory MP.
Previous chief whips are said to have stored their subject’s secrets in a black notebook to use against unruly MPs to win government votes.
Mr Williamson told the Telegraph: “Everyone is obsessed with Palmerston and Larry the cat, but in the Whip’s office we have a proper pet.
"I’ve had Cronus since he was a spiderling, so I have a very paternal sort of approach. It’s very much the same sort of love and care that I give to my spider as I give to all MPs.”
A number of senior Conservative MPs have expressed their unease at the hairy pet, but the chief whip said he has never had any complaints.
Gavin Williamson keeps a spider as a pet. Credit: AFP/Getty Images/AFP/Getty Images
“I always point out to people that more people die of falling off horses than are actually killed by tarantulas so it’s very rare,” he added.
The spider lives in a glass-sided tank and travels back to Mr Williamson’s constituency during recess.
The chief whip added: “Cronus is a perfect example of an incredibly clean, ruthless killer... absolutely fascinating to rear.”
Theresa May's new eight legged enforcer is Cronus the giant spider
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