Graham brady

Graham Brady has been re-elected as chairman of the 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers. Brady, who has been chair since 2010, saw off a strong challenge from the former minister and whip Heather Wheeler. Brady’s victory is a sign of the mood on the Tory backbenches. Wheeler’s supporters argued that Brady had been too public in his criticisms of the government’s approach to lockdown. That Brady won despite having voted against the government multiple times is a sign that Tory MPs are not in a particularly deferential mood towards No. 10 and that they want someone independent-minded to represent them. Several MPs told me they were voting for Brady because

With twelve candidates so far declared for the Tory leadership contest, more MPs are expected to announce in the coming days. Those rumoured to be planning on throwing their hat into the ring include Mark Harper, Steve Baker and 1922 chairman Graham Brady. On Friday, Brady recused himself from a Conservative Party statement on the leadership timetable – on the grounds that he might himself run. So, Mr S was intrigued to learn of a meeting Brady attended on Tuesday at the MC Saatchi office in London. Steerpike’s advertising man-in-the-know reports that Brady was spotted meeting Tory peer – and former chairman – Maurice Saatchi. Saatchi – the chairman of

Two Tory MPs who are currently suspended from the party whip could be brought back in order to take part in today’s vote of no confidence against Theresa May, 1922 Committee Chair Graham Brady revealed this morning. Briefing journalists on the vote, Brady said he was waiting for confirmation from the Chief Whip of the size of the Tory party electoral roll, and that it depended on whether Charlie Ephicke or Andrew Griffiths had the whip restored. Both men were suspended following allegations of sexual harassment, though the Conservative party concluded in November that no further action would be taken against Griffiths. Brady also said that any MPs who were

Theresa May is to face her MPs at the 1922 Committee tomorrow, it has been confirmed. There had been calls for the Prime Minister to do so, after feverish speculation that Tory MPs were plotting to remove her because of her disappointing Brexit performance. She has clearly decided to take on those critics and face her party, rather than hide and hope that this is all going to go away. One of the reasons MPs are increasingly dissatisfied with the Prime Minister is that she isn’t offering any sense of progress towards a deal, and there will again be demands for her to show that she will win a concession

If Theresa May’s sole goal for the Tory conference is to survive it, then she’ll likely be less interested in what Boris Johnson was up to at his big ticket rally this afternoon, and more concerned about any comments made by the chairman of the 1922 Committee, Graham Brady. Brady is famously the man who keeps the letters calling for a vote of no confidence in the Prime Minister, and was introduced at a drinks event earlier in the conference as ‘the man who knows where the bodies are buried’. He is effectively the general secretary of the Tory backbenchers’ trade union, which makes him extraordinarily powerful. Brady and his

Here’s the full transcript from Andrew Neil’s interview with Graham Brady, the chair of the 1922 committee, on the Sunday Politics show: AN: Graham Brady, you think Mrs May should soldier on, why? GB: Well, there’s no other party that is in a position to form a government. Clearly these aren’t the circumstances that either the Prime Minister or I or any of my colleagues would have wanted to be dealing with at the moment but they are the circumstances the electorate has presented us with and I think it’s our duty to make the best of that. It’s our duty to try to offer a government as resilient as

Following Andrea Leadsom’s announcement that she is bowing out of the leadership race, Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 committee, has confirmed that Theresa May is now the only remaining candidate. While he refused to confirm that she was now the country’s Prime Minister, he ruled out re-opening the contest, which means it is almost certain that May has got the top job. Gove has also voiced his support: Andrea Leadsom spoke with great dignity and courage today. I wish her every success in the future. We should now move as quickly as possible to ensure Theresa May can take over as leader. She has my full support as our next prime

The Sunday papers resound with the sound of Tory MPs thinking aloud about how to deal with ill-discipline: principally expenses and harassment. On harassment, the Sunday Times reports the 1922 Committee is considering its own regulation plans after deciding that placing the complaints procedure in the hands of whips might lead to scandals being ‘hushed up’ because politics would win out over justice. Committee chairman Graham Brady has said: ‘We have taken independent advice and had preliminary conversations with Acas [the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service] about how an appropriate grievance procedure might best be structured.’ On expenses, Douglas Carswell and Zac Goldsmith make the case, yet again, for voters

The swell of support continues for Nigel Mills’ amendment to the Immigration Bill which would most likely land the British government in court by trying to extend transitional controls on Bulgarian and Romanian migrants to 2018. I have learned that Graham Brady, influential chair of the 1922 Committee, has now signed the amendment too, and the rebels organising behind it tell me they now have more than 40 backers. The list now includes a number of 1922 Committee executive members, including Nick de Bois, John Whittingdale, Charles Walker and Jason McCartney. A number of Conservative MPs who have never rebelled before (yes, they exist) are considering signing the amendment because they

Margaret Thatcher’s death has reinvigorated her devout following in the Conservative Party. The current Prime Minister was wise to give the House of Lord’s terrace a wide berth last night. It was packed out for the summer party of Conservative Way Forward. This is the pressure group that was established to preserve ‘the lady’s legacy’. Young Dave was not the most popular person in the room. This became clear after the minute’s silence for the group’s deceased honorary president, when former defence minister Gerald Howarth took to the podium to greet ‘the conservative wing of the coalition’. He went on to slam the PM for ‘slashing defence spending while protecting

Patrick Mercer has resigned the Tory whip. But despite his repeated and outspoken criticisms of David Cameron it is nothing to do with the Prime Minister. Rather, Mercer appears to have been embarrassed by a Panorama/Daily Telegraph investigation. In a statement, Mercer has said that he is considering legal action over the coming programme which, he says, alleges he broke parliamentary rules but that ‘to save my Party embarrassment, I have resigned the Conservative Whip. I have decided not to stand at the General Election’. What remains to be seen is if Mercer quits the Commons before then which would prompt a by-election. Given Ukip’s strength at the moment, a

David Cameron knows that a third runway at Heathrow would be one of the most controversial and significant outcomes of his premiership, which is why he has kicked the decision into the long grass with the Davies Review. Thanks to ever spiralling passenger numbers and the bulging state of our existing airports, both London and the South East desperately need a plan to provide more air capacity. We’ve examined the numerous options on Coffee House but most immediate solution — to expand Heathrow — continues to find itself at top of the pile. The Spectator has therefore decided to instigate the debate the government continues to avoid: is expanding Heathrow the answer? I’m delighted to announce that

Next month’s elections to the 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers have taken on particular importance in the current circumstances. The fact that a couple of the officer positions are held by Cameron’s harshest critics, and that some MPs broadly supportive of the leadership have decided to take on the ‘wreckers’, means that the results will be seen as a sign of where backbench opinion in the party really is. As I write in the Mail On Sunday today, three of the 2010 intake — Charlie Elphicke, George Hollingbery and Priti Patel — have decided to endorse a joint candidate for secretary of the committee. This candidate will stand seeking a

It might mean little to people outside Westminster, but the decision of Mark Pritchard not to stand for re-election to his job as Secretary of the 1922 Committee is a significant moment. It suggests that the Cameroons might be making some progress in their attempt to gain control of the internal structures of the parliamentary party. Pritchard has been a thorn in Number 10’s side ever since he started warning against the ‘Purple Plotters’ who wanted to merge the two coalition parties back in January of last year. Since then, his positions on circus animals, his role in the rebellion of the 81 and his general willingness to speak out

The backbench motion on an EU referendum has been cleverly crafted. Rather than just proposing a straight In/Out vote it includes a question on whether Britain ‘should renegotiate the terms of its membership in order to create a new relationship based on trade and cooperation.’ This has given the motion real reach into the Tory benches.   Number 10 needs to play catch-up on this issue, and fast. The whips yesterday were talking about limiting the rebellion to ‘30 to 40 MPs tops’. But 46 Tory MPs — including the chairman of the 1922 committee, Graham Brady — have already signed the motion.   It strikes me that there are

The results of the 1922 elections show that Conservative backbenchers are distinctly right-wing and keen to assert independence. In the race for chairman, Graham Brady — the only man to resign under David Cameron’s leadership on an issue of party policy — romped home by 126 votes to 85. This result suggests that Brady would have beaten Richard Ottaway even if Ministers had been allowed to vote. Brady’s margin of victory suggests that the new intake are an independent bunch as it was the worst kept secret in Westminster that Ottaway was the leadership’s preferred candidate. Indeed, one member of the new intake told me that he thought his colleagues