Warring Tories were today urged to “pull together” following a bitter battle for control of the party’s backbench 1922 committee.
Government critics were ousted last night after a fractious campaign which saw broadly pro-leadership modernisers gain a significant number of positions on the group’s executive.
In the wake of the election results, committee chairman Graham Brady called for an end to the infighting which has exposed deep splits on the Tory benches.
“While some of the electioneering before (the) vote was overly factional and, from time to time, colleagues didn’t show the respect for each other that I would wish, the election ... has been a model of democracy,” he said.
“I hope all colleagues of the 1922 committee will now pull together to ensure we are as successful in our core function of providing a channel of communication between backbenchers and Conservative ministers in the Coalition as we have been in the past.”
Veteran Right-wingers Christopher Chope and Peter Bone both lost their positions as MPs from the 2010 intake dramatically changed the make-up of the committee.
Mr Chope was ousted in the key battle for the two secretary positions, but the modernisers also suffered a blow when just one of their preferred candidates — Karen Bradley — was successful.
Charlie Elphicke lost out as the other post went to the more traditionalist Nick de Bois, who had painted himself as an independent candidate against the “slate” put forward by the 301 group — named after the number of seats the Tories need to win the next election.
But eight of the 12 MPs elected to the committee’s executive were understood to have 301 group backing. Just one of the 12, Bernard Jenkin, was elected to Parliament before 2010.
Read More
Modernisers hope the group, which has traditionally acted as a “safety valve” for the party, will now form greater links with Tory HQ and its volunteers around the country.
They also hope meetings can be moved from Wednesday to Monday so MPs can unite around key events in the Parliamentary week, and want the 1922 to become an “umbrella” for other policy groups right across the party.
New executive member George Hollingbery said the election had shown an “appetite for change” but stressed the new MPs wanted to work with colleagues on the changes.
“This stuff will all take time, none of this will happen overnight,” he told the Standard. “The ’22 has been here a lot longer than I have and will be here for a long time after I’ve gone.”
