1922 Committee
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In British politics, the 1922 Committee consists of all backbench Conservative Members of Parliament, though when the party is in opposition, frontbench MPs other than the party leader may also attend its meetings. It meets every week while Parliament is in session, and provides a way for Tory backbenchers (and indirectly, ordinary party members) to have their views heard by frontbenchers.
The 1922 Committee has an 18-member executive committee, the chairman of which must oversee any election of a new party leader, or any vote of confidence for the current one; such a vote can be triggered by 15 percent of Tory MPs writing a letter to the chairman asking for such a vote. This was invoked most recently on October 28, 2003, when 25 MPs requested a vote of confidence in Iain Duncan Smith by writing to the chairman, Sir Michael Spicer. Duncan Smith lost the vote the next day.
The committee was formed in 1923, but takes its name from the 1922 general election. Contrary to popular belief, it does not stem from the famous 1922 meeting in which Conservative MPs successfully demanded that the party withdraw from the coalition government of David Lloyd George. It is true that this act triggered a general election in which many new Conservative MPs were elected, and these new MPs then formed the 1922 Committee. But the founder MPs were not the ones who had taken the decision to break up the coalition government. Subsequently they expanded the group's membership to include virtually all MPs in the party; thus, the name serves as a reminder of the power of the backbench MPs.
The body is usually referred to in broadcast media as the 'Backbench 1922 Committee'.
The analogous body for the Labour Party is the Parliamentary Labour Party.
[edit] Chairmen
- Sir Gervais Rentoul (1923 – 1932)
- William Shepherd Morrison (1932 – 1935)
- Sir Hugh O'Neill (1935 – 1939)
- William Patrick Spens (1939 – 1940)
- Sir Alexander Galloway Erskine-Hill (1940 – 1944)
- John McEwen (1944 – 1945)
- Sir Arnold Gridley (1946 – 1951)
- Derek Colclough Walker-Smith (1951 – 1955)
- John Morrison (1955 – 1964)
- Sir William Anstruther-Gray (1964 – 1966)
- Sir Arthur Vere Harvey (1966 – 1970)
- Sir Harry Legge-Bourke (1970 – 1972)
- Sir Edward du Cann (1972 – 1984)
- Cranley Onslow (1984 – 1992)
- Sir Marcus Fox (1992 – 1997)
- Archie Hamilton (1997 – 2001)
- Sir Michael Spicer (2001 – )
[edit] Secretaries
- Sir Victor Goodhew (Joint Secretary, 1979-83).
- Jill Knight (1983 - 1987).
