Graham Brady was the MP for Altrincham and Sale West from 1997 to 2024 and the Chairman of the 1922 Committee of backbench Conservative MPs 2010 to 2024. He was made a Knight Batchelor in 2018 and appointed to the Privy Council in 2023, when he was also awarded the Freedom of the City of London.
The 1922 Committee is the principal conduit for communication between Conservative MPs and the Prime Minister and Conservative Ministers and advises the Prime Minister on the mood of the party whilst ensuring that Ministers have an opportunity to speak to colleagues and to listen to their views on policy.
Graham is well known to be independent minded and a champion of state grammar schools, having resigned from the front bench in 2007 to campaign in support of selective education. He was awarded ‘Backbencher of the Year’ by The Spectator in 2010.
Graham has previously served as a shadow minister, holding the schools, employment, as well as the Europe brief. Graham also served on the Education and Employment Select Committee from 1997-2001 and the Treasury Select Committee from 2007-2010.
Graham has been appointed to the Sutton Trust’s Board of Trustees in July 2024.
Prior to his election in 1997, Graham was Public Affairs Director of the Waterfront Partnership. He had previously worked at the Centre for Policy Studies and Shandwick Plc. Graham studied law at Durham University. He is married to Victoria, and they have a daughter and a son.