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 mandate to shift the focus of the committee more onto campaigning and policy-work.
These three MPs come from very different parts of the party. They are all, though, fairly supportive of the leadership. (It should, however, be noted that both Patel and Hollingbery rebelled on the
EU referendum vote). The vote for their candidate, and his opponent, will give us the best idea yet of where the backbenches are at the moment politically. Indeed, I expect that the machinery of
the 301 group, the most pro-Cameron of all the backbench groups, will be thrown behind the Elphicke, Hollingbery Patel slate.
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But as Tim Montgomerie points out, this isn’t an
attempt to take-over — or neuter — the committee. There’ll be no challenge to the chairman Graham Brady, who in opposition famously resigned from the front-bench over grammar
schools, or the extremely popular vice-chairman Charles Walker.
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