After weeks of turmoil, culminating in a chaotic 48 hours of ministerial resignations, Boris Johnson eventually announced his resignation to the nation earlier today (July 7). When it looked like the Prime Minister would remain in power, the 1922 Committee came under scrutiny over its rules.
The committee only allows one vote of confidence per year for a serving Prime Minister and Mr Johnson won one called against him last month. However, the committee may still have had some power to forcibly remove the Prime Minister from office.
Chairing this committee since 2010 has been Sir Graham Brady. It was previously reported that Brady visited the Prime Minister in Downing Street to tell him the committee's executive was likely to change leadership contest rules by Monday to allow MPs to have another stab at removing him.
Read more: Every word of Boris Johnson's farewell speech as he confirms resignation
Who is Sir Graham Brady?
Sir Graham Brady is a member of the Conservative Party who has served as the MP for Altrincham and Sale West since 1997. He has been chairman of the 1922 Committee since 2010, aside from a brief period in 2019.
During his tenure as chairman, the 55-year-old has overseen votes of no confidence in two Prime Ministers - Theresa May and Boris Johnson. Before succeeding Sir Michael Spicer as chairman in May 2010, Brady also served as Shadow Minister for Europe under four Conservative leaders, eventually resigning in 2007 in protest of David Cameron's opposition to grammar schools.
At the end of 2010, he was voted Backbencher of the Year by The Spectator at its annual parliamentary awards. In May 2019, he resigned as chairman to explore launching a bid to become Tory leader following May’s resignation. However, he opted not to run and was subsequently re-elected as the permanent chair in January 2020.
What is the 1922 Committee?
Also known as the 22, the 1922 Committee was actually set up a year later, in April 1923. This followed the 1922 General Election when new elected Conservative MPs aimed to facilitate cooperation within the party.
It consists of backbench Tory MPs that meet weekly when the Commons is sitting. Its chair is usually a senior MP who has sufficient influence within the party and is elected by committee members.
Current party issues are discussed in the meetings, even meeting monthly with the party’s leader to deliver the issues raised. Since MR Brady began his tenure, frontbenchers have also been invited to attend. The group is colloquially known as ‘the men in grey suits’, a term thought to derive from how Margaret Thatcher referred to them.
Who is in the 1922 Committee?
Along with Brady as chair, William Wragg and Nusrat Ghani serve as vice-chairs of the committee. Serving as executive secretaries are Bob Blackman and Gary Sambrook while Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown serves as treasurer.
Executive members Karl McCartney, Sir Bernard Jenkin, Jason McCartney, Nicola Richards, Sheryll Murray, Richard Holden and Martin Vickers round out the committee.
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