Tory grandee Graham Brady has survived a bid to oust him as chairman of the powerful 1922 committee of backbench Conservative MPs.
The MP for Altrincham and Sale West has held the senior post since 2010 but had been under threat amid claims he had been too critical of Boris Johnson.
Mr Brady had been marshalling a backbench push against the Prime Minister's lockdown measures and repeatedly intervened during the Brexit wars..
But he emerged victorious after a challenge from ex-minister Heather Wheeler, who had been favoured by Downing Street for the role.
He thanked his colleagues for the “vote of confidence” after the secret ballot open to Tory MPs who are not on the Government payroll.
Downing Street has reportedly been unhappy Mr Brady, who has also voted against the Government a number of times.
Mrs Wheeler, former whip and junior minister at the Foreign Office, was widely regarded to be No 10’s preferred candidate for what is one of the most influential posts in Westminster.
Mr Brady, 54, said: “It is a privilege to have been re-elected as chairman of the 1922 Committee after 11 years serving the parliamentary Conservative Party, I am grateful to my colleagues for this vote of confidence.”
Often referred to as the “shop steward” of Tory MPs, it is up to the ‘22 chairman to tell the Conservative prime minister if they have lost the support of the backbenches.
