London (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Graham Brady is a British Politician who is working as the Member of Parliament for Altrincham and Sale West. Since 2007 he has been a member of the Conservative Party and the chairman of the Committee since 2010. However, his stay in this position has been brief. During his tenure as the Committee chairman, he has witnessed the elections for three different Conservative Party leaders and Prime Ministers. This list includes Theresa May, Liz Truss, and Rishi Sunak.
He took care of the votes of confidence for Boris Johnson. If this isn’t enough Graham has served as a Shadow Minister under four Conservative leaders. However, he decided to resign in 2007 as a protest against David Cameron. At this time David openly opposed the idea of Grammar schools that didn’t go well with him.
Early Life & Bio
Sir Graham Stuart Brady was born on 20 May 1967 in Salford, Lancashire, England. He got his early education at the Altrincham Grammar School for Boys. In 1989, he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree. You will not be surprised to know that Graham was very active in politics. Being a student he served as the chairman of the Durham University Conservative Association.
He actively maintained this position from 1987 to 1988. If this isn’t enough he was the only student to get elected at the annual NUS conference. Apart from that he has served as the Chairman of Northern Area Conservative Students. Additionally, he has served as a member of the Conservative Party’s National Union Executive Committee.
Early Career
Graham was appointed as a consultant in the public relations sector. In 1990 he joined the Centre for Policy Studies. He was appointed as the director of public affairs at the Waterfront Partnership. Interestingly he maintain this position for a long and was finally elected to the House of Commons in 1997. Moreover, he has been the vice-chairman of the East Berkshire Conservative Association. While he maintained this position from 1993 to 1995.
Parliamentary Career
Graham successfully started his parliamentary career. He contested the election following the retirement of veteran Conservative MP Fergus Montgomery. During this time he became the only MP to serve the party. The 1997 elections became a turning point in his political career. However, in these elections, he had to fight a close battle with the opposition. Luck turned in his favor and he was selected with a majority of 1,505 votes.
You will be surprised to know that he was the youngest Conservative MP who got elected in 1997. Interestingly he was elected before his 30th birthday. If we talk about the other youngest MPs it will be hard not to mention Tim Collins. When the party leadership election took place things took an exciting turn. Graham actively supported Michael Howard throughout his journey.
Parliamentary Private Secretary
Graham made his maiden speech at the House of Commons in 1997. After one year he became a member of the Education and Employment Select Committee. Furthermore, he got the Employment Sub-Committee to work. This helped him become the joint secretary of the Conservative Party Committee. Moreover, this position was for Education and Employment.
In 1998, he made various enquires to john Bourn. He decided that the National Audit report must not publish due to controversies. This report covered the controversial Al-Yamamah arms deal. Following the same year he became one of the 13 Conservative MPs who favored another viewpoint. From 1988 to 2000 he came a member of the executive committee.
Apart from all these activities he became a member of the Education and Employment Select committee. Alongside he got the position of Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to the Chairman of the Conservative Party. He was serving Michael Ancram in 1999 and that resulted in many favors. If this isn’t enough he was made a prominent Opposition Whip by William Hague.
In February 2000, he was the first one to complain against anti-grammar school literature. His idea was circulated to all the parents of Altrincham by Michael Evans. Later this application moved to the head of Trinity Church of England High School.
Personal life & Net Worth
The total net worth of Graham Brady happens to be around $ 5 million. Graham met Victoria Lowther at Durham University. They fell in love and got married in 1992. The couple is blessed with a daughter and one son. You will not be surprised to know that Graham is reported to be among the highest-paid MPs. He paid a big amount of money to his family members that are in the range of £40,000 to £45,000.
Currently, he resides at Altrincham in Greater Manchester. Graham was soon appointed as the Knight Bachelor “for political and public service”. He got this position in the 2018 New Year Honors. This position helped him gain a lot more prominence. The Duke of Cambridge took place at Buckingham Palace in March.
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Position at the 1922 Committee
Graham joined the 1922 Committee by taking over the role of Sir Michael Spicer. He had a major role to play in the election of the Leader of the Conservative Party. Since then Graham got the chance to oversee three conservative Leaders. Whether it is Theresa May, Liz Truss in 2022, and Rishi Sunak he saw them all.
Nearly all of them have become Prime Ministers since his part in the Conservative party. He has been the chairman during this tenure all this while. However, he resigned from his position as the 1992 chairman in 2019. The reason was obvious he wanted to explore another option and didn’t want to run as the leader
When John Boris got elected things changed in politics. However, the role of Graham as the chairman of the Committee gave him a lot of prominences. During this time he announced the result of every leadership election or challenge. Such activities are followed in high numbers on everyone’s TV screens. In 2022 he became the longest-ever serving chairman surpassing the tenure of Edward Du Cann.