1922 Committee Elections Results See Modernisers Take Partial Control

The Huffington Post UK  |  By Posted: Updated: 16/05/2012 20:10

The elections for the 1922 Committee have been revealed by the Conservative Party's backbench chairman Graham Brady - and while the new 301 group of young Tory MPs has failed to get their preferred people into the two secretary positions, they have secured one of their favourites in the form of Karen Bradley. The middle-of-the-road candidate Nick De Bois took the other secretary position.

The 301 group, formed a few months ago, are a group of Tory MPs who want to modernise the party and focus less on Europe and traditionalist values. They have been part of a movement which has tried to remove hard-liners from key positions on the 1922 committee, which serves as a forum for backbench Tory debate.

The 301 group is so-called because that's the number of seats the Tories expect to require to secure an outright majority at the next election.

The other results on the general executive for the 1922 are more favourable for the 301 group - and by implication for David Cameron. Seven of the twelve positions have been filled by the so-called "slate" of candidates preferred by younger members of the Tory backbenches, and many of them were elected for the first time in 2010.

In full the new twelve members of the executive are:

Steve Baker
Guto Bebb
George Eustice
Graham Evans
Robert Halfon
George Hollingbery
Bernard Jenkin
Simon Kirby
Penny Mordaunt
Sheryll Murray
Priti Patel
Heather Wheeler

In addition the results were announced on Wednesday evening for the four Tory positions on the Commons Backbench Business Committee - they will help determine the course of backbench debates at Westminster for the next year.

David Amess
Bob Blackman
Jane Ellison
Marcus Jones

It's ended up being quite a mixed picture. As HuffPost reported earlier on Wednesday there's been a lot of rancour with these elections, following allegations of interference and tacit support for 301 candidates by Number 10. We reported earlier that this "slating" of candidates had caused ripples of uncertainty, with Tracey Crouch - a young moderniser - stepping down from the committee amid reports she feared she'd be seen as a Downing Street stooge.

On balance what's happened is that the new 1922 has become a fairer reflection of the state of the parliamentary party at large, with a few of the old guard remaining in key positions but plenty of fresh blood on the executive. There are some fun mavericks like the ultra-free market Steve Baker sitting alongside the somewhat enigmatic Priti Patel. Like Nick de Bois, Patel has been seen as being in both the modernising and dissident camps simultaneously.

People like Peter Bone and Christopher Chope - perennial thorns in the side of the PM - are swept aside. Of course there's nothing to stop these two continuing to snipe at what they see as diluted Tory policies. They just won't have the cachet of being on the 1922 behind them, anymore.

David Cameron should be able to wake up to Farming Today tomorrow morning with the burdens of backbench rancour lifted - but only a little bit.

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The elections for the 1922 Committee have been revealed by the Conservative Party's backbench chairman Graham Brady - and while the new 301 group of young Tory MPs has failed to get their preferred pe...
The elections for the 1922 Committee have been revealed by the Conservative Party's backbench chairman Graham Brady - and while the new 301 group of young Tory MPs has failed to get their preferred pe...
 
 
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04:54 PM on 05/17/2012
It looks like all the old fools are being ousted by new young fools . if i had to choose i think i'd pick the old ones.
07:08 AM on 05/17/2012
I wish them well..BUT they are ALL kidding themselves if they believe that they will EVER have a MAJORITY in this generation....the Coalition and all it's partners are FINISHED at the next possible chance for the voters.
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Hugh Albert
Moderation in somethings
09:08 PM on 05/16/2012
I am a long time conservative, in that I wish to preserve beneficial traditions while welcoming innovations that are self-evidently worthy (couldn't use 'beneficial' again, and my Oxford is out of reach!)
Having said that I have no time for the 1922 or this new 301. They put me in mind of Militant Tendency: a party within a party. The communists had a phrase for this sort if thing : entry ism. Gain entry, then corrupt from within.
Politics is corrupt enough, we really don't need internal rot to keep pace with the external decay already evident in our mainstream parties.
10:49 PM on 05/16/2012
Hugh Albert - the 1922 Committee is supposedly representative of the Tory Parlimentary Party and acts as a reflection of run of the mill party members and passes on their views on policy to senior party members and the PM .

And clearly with 600 seats maximum and new constituency boundaries at the next general election the 2015 election is likely to be the most open for half a century so they need to win 301 seats for overall control although fewer would still possibly leave them the largest party .

It would be a foolish Tory Leader who did not at least listen to the views of the 1922 Committee - the top people in any organisation don't have a monopoly on winning ideas - it costs nothing to ask opinions - as well as winning friends you may just pick up few winning ideas - and it gives you the opportunity to privately persuade your doubters - the soldier's soldier often makes a winning General . Mrs Thatcher always took care to listen to the 1922 Committe - she may not have adopted their views but smart lady she did them the courtesy of listening
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Hugh Albert
Moderation in somethings
09:47 AM on 05/17/2012
Ronnie thanks for the explanation but though I will moderate my suspicions I won't banish them completely. I still don't like parties within parties, no matter their ostensible purpose.
12:15 AM on 05/17/2012
Wow! admitting long term mental illness - good on you.
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Hugh Albert
Moderation in somethings
09:50 AM on 05/17/2012
As it happens I have clinical depression since the mid eighties.
08:35 PM on 05/16/2012
Camerom needs to watch his rear. There will be another young inexperienced of life ex public schoolboy scrambling for his job.
08:21 PM on 05/16/2012
Right, so the 1922 Cttee members have been elected, to me it looks like largely mainstream loyalist-ish, but neither ultra-Cameroonian or crusty old headbangers of the right:

Nick de Bois - sensible rightish but not mad Enfield chap, tweets a fair bit.
Karen Bradley - bright economics wonk, George gives her the time of day.
Steve Baker - ex RAF free marketeer eurosceptic; into Austrian economics (not sure what that is but does not involve locking children in basements).
Guto Bebb - nice ruddy faced outdoorsy type from north Wales, ex Plaid.
George Eustice - cornish strawberry farming eurosceptic and former CCO spin puffin.
Graham Evans - big ears, from the North West somewhere (plays the guitar I think).
Robert Halfon - Mr Harlow, loyal rightwinger, big Tweeter and techie.
George Hollingbery - nope, got me. Dog biscuit millionaire or something.
Bernard Jenkin - Old guard eurosceptic naturist and choral-singing charmer.
Simon Kirby - nice bloke, mod suits, hair with tendency to look a bit 'Swiss Tony'.
Penny Mordaunt - the knees you often see behind the PM at PMQ, uber loyal naval reservist.
Sheryll Murray - nice Cornish lady who fisherman husband sadly drowned
Priti Patel - steely estuarial Essex eurosceptic (ex Referendum party - naughty)
Heather Wheeler - jolly no nonsense Derbyshire sort in twinset.

Peter Mannion
www.twitter.com/petermannionmp
09:30 PM on 05/16/2012
Thanks for that depressing reminder. Can the mediocre build a meritocracy?
northern git
fed up with all the political crap in life
07:54 PM on 05/16/2012
the tory party is at it's old games again; it is never long from an election when they are tying ech other in knots to work out who really runs the parliamentary party

just as in a team there should only be one captain there should only be one leader of the tories

just who IS the boss?
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Hugh Albert
Moderation in somethings
09:11 PM on 05/16/2012
Dear old git! Hate anyone, and call him a Tory.