There have been few constants in British politics this past decade but Sir Graham Brady has been one of them. Elected chairman of the 1922 committee of backbench Tory MPs in 2010, Brady has served continually ever since – barring a brief moment of madness to consider a leadership bid back in the crazy days of 2019. Tough, independently-minded, experienced – he is to many what a 1922 chair should be.
But now Brady faces a challenge in the form of onetime immigration minister Robert Goodwill. The latter is seen as a more congenial figure to some, in contrast to Brady’s very public past interventions on Europe, HS2, the badger cull and now Covid lockdowns. The incumbent was re-elected at the beginning of this parliament but now some of the new intake are starting to regard Sir Graham as somewhat distant – unsurprising perhaps given the constraints of a virtual parliament.
So what chance does Goodwill have? One of the 2019 brigade told Mr S that ‘Robert does have a fair bit of support’ but that the hashtag #backingbrady has been trending through various Tory WhatsApp groups in recent days. Another pro-Brady newbie issued this warning to party managers: ‘If some bright spark thought this was good idea then they will be promptly be put back in their box.’
Conservative MPs have traditionally been loath to surrender their (few) powers under their usual system of leadership by absolute monarchy. An attempt by David Cameron back in 2010 to give frontbenchers a vote in 1922 elections was swiftly defeated with one old hand telling ConservativeHome ‘Backbenchers hate the idea of a Downing Street stooge being foisted on them.’
Will Goodwill’s intervention mean Brady has to shape up to win over the new boys and girls? Mr S looks forward to finding out.
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