1922 Committee - Under David Cameron

Under David Cameron

On 19 May 2010, shortly after the formation of a coalition government between the Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties, the party leader and newly-appointed Prime Minister, David Cameron, suggested altering the 1922 Committee to include ministers (frontbenchers) in the decision making process, angering some backbench MPs. On 20 May 2010, the 1922 Committee members voted to approve the change, with 168 votes in favour and 118 against. Many backbench party members did criticise the move and voted against it, whilst Ministers had deemed it necessary to continue operating the party during its membership of a coalition government. However, it was revealed shortly after the vote that whilst frontbenchers would be able to attend meetings of the Committee, it would continue that only backbenchers would be able to vote for its officers and executive committee.

With both backbenchers and frontbenchers able to attend meetings, the 1922 Committee now encompasses all sitting Conservative members of the House of Commons, although frontbench members attend by invitation and cannot participate in elections and is similar to the Parliamentary Labour Party.

In July, 2011, after addressing the House of Commons in the wake of James and Rupert Murdoch's parliamentary testimony in the News International phone hacking scandal, Cameron was reported to have been received enthusiastically by the Committee, later that night. Another report on that show of support, however, noted that "reporters ... outside" were a probably intended audience for the show and that Cameron's support amongst Tories was still at least to some degree shaken by the News International-related events. "Many complain," according to the reporter without naming names, "that they cannot use the 1922 Committee ... without being briefed against for doing so."