Graham Brady: The man who tells Tory prime ministers the game is up – and helps usher in the next

One secret to the chair of the 1922 Committee’s longevity in the post is a rare ability to command the respect of most wings of the Conservative Party, writes Sean O’Grady

Chair of the 1922 Committee Sir Graham Brady (PA)

It’s fair to say that the words “Sir Graham Brady would like to arrange a meeting with you” are among the most portentous any Conservative leader can hear.

Many a prime-ministerial bowel must have quivered at the very mention of his name. The reason is invariably that if the chair of the 1922 Committee, as Sir Graham has been since 2010, wants a quiet word, then the end cannot be far away. He turns up when the backbenchers tell him to, as a sort of shop steward, and his job is to tell a prime minister that the game is up.

He has previously had to do so with Theresa May and Boris Johnson, so he’s quite well rehearsed in the role. He knows the drill. Last Thursday he went through it again, in a meeting supposedly requested by Liz Truss, with the pair soon joined by her deputy prime minister, Therese Coffey, and the chair of the party, Jake Berry. About two hours later, the podium of doom was parked outside Downing Street, Truss’s husband appeared, and the end was confirmed before she had even opened her mouth. But it wasn’t leaked – testament to Sir Graham’s ability to keep his counsel.