Cameron springs a surprise reform assault on his MPs

David Cameron has launched an assault on the traditional role and composition of the 1922 Committee. They are the backbench voice and bain of past Tory PM’s lives at certain points.

By tradition the executive and chairman are voted on by backbenchers alone. Ministers only attend by invitation and often to be pilloried or lobbied. In an audacious power-grab David Cameron wants the government MPs to attend as of right and to join in the vote on its officers and he’s putting the whole thing to a ballot that opens in 15 minutes.

The right is fizzing, though several spoke out in the room, I was told (Brian Binley, Peter Bone, Bill Cash and John Redwood were amongst those who raised concerns).

Eric Pickles says it’ll get through “no doubt.” The two candidates for the chairmanship of the 1922 Committee only got 20 minutes’ notice of the changes. This is another lesson from Tony Blair’s reforms pre-97 trying to make sure conference was reformed (emasculated) so it couldn’t be ambushed regularly.

David Cameron has served notice on his troops that he is not going to take their inevitable restlessness lying down. “He’s stoking up hatred” said one senior former minister. One MP said: “Welcome to Albania.”