Island MP Andrew Turner has made it two election victories in a row, having just been elected by his Conservative MP colleagues to the executive of the influential 1922 Committee of the Conservative Party, only months after his General Election success. The primary function of the committee, whose name is taken from the year in which it was originally formed, is to keep the leadership of the party informed of the mood of Conservative backbenchers Speaking of his election, Andrew Turner commented,
“It is both an immense honour and an exciting challenge to have been chosen to sit on the executive of the 1922 Committee, especially as the people of the Isle of Wight only elected me to Parliament five months ago.”
The committee meets each week to discuss forthcoming parliamentary business. Conservative cabinets and shadow cabinets are normally expected to take its views very seriously, and its Chairman plays a key role in the election of the party leader.
Mr Turner added,
“I will be making sure I use my new role on the 1922 executive for the benefit of my constituents. The committee has the important role of ensuring that the party leadership listens to the views of backbench MPs such as myself, which means I can now raise Island issues both in the Commons, and directly to the party leadership.
