Sunak 'only had 10 no confidence letters when he called election' say former 1922 chair Sir Graham Brady

15 September 2024, 00:37

Rishi Sunak only had received ten letters of no confidence when the election was called, former chairman of the 1922 Committee Sir Graham Brady has claimed.

In excerpts from Sir Graham's memoir Kingmaker published in the Sunday Telegraph, he claimed that "as we headed off towards the smoke of battle, there were 10 letters sitting in my safe".

He added: "A rumour spread that Rishi had called the election because I had told him that he was about to face a confidence vote. I had given no such indication."

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In the new book, Sir Graham details his stint at the head of the Tory backbencher committee - and also makes the staggering revelation that Tory MPs were considering removing Sunak as leader after the election was called.

Sir Graham wrote: "Technically, I believe it would be possible to trigger a confidence vote, but given that His Majesty has already consented to the prime minister’s request for dissolution, the general election would still take place on July 4.

"This might not be seen as the most auspicious way for colleagues who are seeking re-election to commence their campaign.

Sir Graham was the chairman of the influential 1922 Committee from 2010 until 2024 and is tasked with announcing the outcome of Tory leadership confidence votes, and privately telling unpopular PMs when their support had dwindled to such an extent that resignation was an inevitability.

He has overseen the election of three Tory party leaders and PMs in Theresa May, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak, and no-confidence votes in Mrs May and Boris Johnson.