Tory MPs have defied Boris Johnson by re-electing one of the fiercest internal critics of his lockdown restrictions to chair an influential backbench committee.
Sir Graham Brady faced a challenge to his position at the head of the 1922 Committee from former minister Heather Wheeler, who was seen as Downing Street’s favoured candidate for one of the most powerful Westminster roles for a Tory outside government.
Mr Johnson has been increasingly irritated by Sir Graham’s outspoken demands for relaxation of coronavirus restrictions, which have seen the veteran MP repeatedly join rebellions against the government line.
Sir Graham, who has held the post since 2010, said he regarded his victory in a vote open only to Tory MPs who are not on the government payroll as a “vote of confidence”.
The Altrincham and Sale West MP said: “It is a privilege to have been re-elected as chairman of the 1922 Committee after 11 years serving the parliamentary Conservative Party, I am grateful to my colleagues for this vote of confidence.”
Often referred to as the “shop steward” of Tory MPs, it is up to the ‘22 chairman to tell the Conservative prime minister if they have lost the support of the backbenches.
Brady presided over the vote of confidence which allowed Theresa May to hang onto her position for a few more months amid Tory revolt over her stewardship of Brexit in 2019.
The former Europe minister has broken with the practice of earlier chairs, who have largely operated in the background and refrained from public comment on political controversies.
He successfully tabled an amendment in 2019 to replace Ms May’s Northern Ireland backstop with “alternative arrangements” to prevent a hard border after Brexit. And he has been a leading light of the Covid Recovery Group of anti-lockdown Tory MPs.
Sir Graham quit as chair of the ’22 in May 2019 to sound out colleagues on his prospects for a bid for the Tory leadership following Ms May’s resignation, but ultimately opted not to stand after apparently failing to garner sufficient support. He returned as acting chair in September that year and was re-elected to the position in January 2020.
While he has been seen as effective in communicating backbench opinion to the PM, Ms Wheeler is understood to have argued that he was using the position to pursue his own agenda on lockdown.
