The Conservative Private Members Committee, informally known as the 1922 Committee (or the ’22, as they call it), is the Tory confessional, its trade union and common room. If that makes it sound chaotic (and it sometimes is) it is also the assassination bureau that felled Margaret Thatcher, and, more recently, three prime ministers in four years – their emotions in defeat ranging from compliance to delirium. On 24 May 2019 the ’22’s chair, Graham Brady MP, visited Theresa May to discuss a date for her departure; she resigned that day. On 6 July 2022 Boris Johnson told Brady he would fight on, even if more than 30 ministers had quit. The following morning he telephoned to say he would go. There was no fight when Brady went to see Liz Truss on 20 October 2022: she left the same day.
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