article: In the Commons, the Conservative majority of 12 looked paper-thin, and susceptible to all manner of rebellions from a variety of different quarters: in the Lords, the Conservatives, for the first time in their history, faced the prospect of governing without a majority of peers behind them. But as 2016 dawns, those whips may be breathing just a little easier. By normal standards, the government should be having rather a hard time at the moment, with its somersault with triple salko over tax credit cuts, its latest postponement of a decision on Heathrow expansion (supposedly a vital infrastructure issue), not to mention the increasingly nasty internal sniping over David Cameron's EU membership renegotiation. But sitting on a double-digit opinion poll lead, ministers can, instead, contemplate Labour's disarray, the Lib Dems' near disappearance and the SNP's enthusiasm for sniping at Labour, as well as them. When ministers come to propose the renewal of Trident, for example, they can expect a number of Labour MPs to support them, or at least abstain. And if Jeremy Corbyn seeks to overrule his MPs on this issue, by polling Labour Party members, the internal bitterness in the Parliamentary Labour Party will doubtless deepen, and a couple of shadow cabinet members could well depart. It's an example of how a controversial decision will be masked by a Labour split. The most troublesome issues for government should be those where most opposition parties are united against them and where 10 or more Conservative MPs are prepared to break ranks. Take the Investigatory Powers Bill, where Tory civil libertarians like David Davis are deeply unhappy about the internet data powers the government wants to take. Mr Davis is a seasoned parliamentary guerrilla, capable of causing real trouble with a combination of tactical streetsmarts and a proven ability to work with opposition MPs - he has an excellent working relationship with one Tom Watson, now deputy leader of the Labour Party. They might be able to engineer a Commons defeat for the government on some aspect of the Bill, perhaps to require judicial warrants for intercepts, but this is only possible if Labour can present a united front. Shadow home secretary Andy Burnham at first seemed to welcome the draft Bill, which is being scrutinised by a special parliamentary committee, and then raised questions afterwards - a performance that smacked of internal disagreement. And that in turn raises questions about whether Labour has the flexibility to support the Bill in general while attempting to defeat the government on a key part of it. We shall see. And what about their lordships' House? The government is attempting to re-write the rules on secondary legislation, after its stinging defeat on tax credits in October. But that defeat masked an interesting fact - that the government is starting to win a few more contentious votes in the Lords. Shortly after that tax credit vote, it defeated a move to postpone a switch to individual voter registration, largely because a few Labour peers failed to turn out. More recently the government whips have seen off
summary: After the election, the numbers in both Houses of Parliament looked pretty daunting for the government whips.