Race to be backbench Tory MPs' champion hots up

The Tory MP Heather Wheeler is standing for the job of chair of the 1922 committee

It's all kicking off in the election to be the shop steward of the backbench Tory MPs.

The job of chairman of their representative body, the 1922 Committee, is being contested, and the 11-year incumbent Sir Graham Brady looked fairly comfortable when he faced challenges from two rivals, former ministers Heather Wheeler and Robert Goodwill.

But now it's a two horse race, with Mr Goodwill pulling out, to allow a single challenger to Sir Graham, in a first-past-the-post election.

And it looks a tighter race now, with Sir Graham assailed by a highly professional leaflet from Ms Wheeler ("too professional, if you ask me," murmurs one Tory grandee, who suspects senior government ministers are behind it).

The leaflet includes a series of Wheeler supporters uttering such pointed phrases as "we need someone we can count on and who will work with us" - which comes from executive member Sheryll Murray, and "hugely diligent, patient and - importantly - discreet" from a fellow MP, Craig Williams.

The voters are the Tory MPs, who were once called "the most sophisticated electorate in the world", but they don't have to read very closely between the lines to decode the criticism: Sir Graham is being accused of promoting his own agenda rather than feeding the views of the parliamentary rank and file into the leadership, and going too far in criticising (and voting against) lockdown measures.

As Heather Wheeler says in the leaflet: "I don't just want to use my position to promote my view. I want to take colleagues' views forward and resolve the issues they care about."

Sir Graham has been chair of the committee since 2010

Sir Graham's supporters think this is all a touch bare knuckle - and their man is sending more traditional letters to Conservative MPs.

The chair of the '22 has long been an important backbench player in Westminster - and sometimes the person who presents unpopular leaders with their marching orders, when the troops have lost faith.

Sir Graham has been an influential presence behind the scenes, throughout the Coalition years, and the Brexit turmoil, even briefly toying with a run for the leadership himself. He wants to continue, but even his supporters concede he now has a fight on his hands.

And it's a race without a clear finishing line. The original plan was for Conservative MPs to vote in person when Covid restrictions were lifted on 21 June - and the postponement means that the campaign will carry on until the restrictions are lifted.

So maybe 19 July, the beginning of the last week of term, and maybe not.

And remember, insurgents and challengers tend to profit from long campaigns.