Graham Brady

He was selected to contest the Altrincham and Sale West parliamentary constituency, following the retirement of the veteran Conservative MP Fergus Montgomery. Brady's constituency is considered to be a Conservative safe seat,[9] having returned only Conservative MPs during its existence. The 1997 general election proved to be a close battle in the seat, but Brady was elected with a majority of 1,505 votes. He was the youngest Conservative MP to be elected in 1997, being aged 29.

Brady made his maiden speech in the House of Commons on 2 June 1997. In 1998 he made enquiries to John Bourn, at the time Comptroller and Auditor General, on his decision not to publish a National Audit Office report on the controversial Al-Yamamah arms deal.[10] The same year, Brady was one of only 13 Conservative MPs who voted in favour of an equal age of consent.[11] He became a Member of the Education and Employment Select committee, and Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to the Chairman of the Conservative Party, Michael Ancram in 1999. He was made an Opposition Whip by William Hague in 2000. In February 2000, Brady complained about anti-grammar school literature circulated to parents in Altrincham by Michael Evans, then head of Trinity Church of England High School, arguing that this violated rules about public funds being used for campaign material – a complaint subsequently upheld by Secretary of State for Education David Blunkett.[12] That same year Brady would become an Opposition Spokesman on Education and Employment.

Following a second Conservative defeat at the 2001 general election, Brady continued as an Opposition Spokesman on Education and Skills under the leadership of both Hague and Duncan Smith. He became the PPS to the Leader of the Opposition, Michael Howard in 2003, and an Opposition Spokesman on Foreign Affairs and Shadow Europe Minister in 2004.

On 29 May 2007, Brady resigned his post as Shadow Minister for Europe in protest at Conservative leader David Cameron's opposition to grammar schools. He told the BBC that: "faced with a choice between a front bench position that I have loved and doing what I believe to be right for my constituents and for the many hundreds of thousands of families who are ill-served by state education in this country, there is in conscience only one option open to me", and argued that "grammar schools in selective areas are exactly the motor that does drive social mobility more effectively than comprehensive areas."[13] Brady's own constituency has retained a selective rather than comprehensive education system.

In 2013, he opposed the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013, raising concerns that the measure had not been in the Conservative manifesto and that religious freedom could be compromised.[11]

In the 2016 EU referendum, he was a supporter of Brexit.[14]

In July 2018, it was reported that Brady served as editor of The House, the in-house Parliamentary magazine, earning a salary of £26,000 for the role.[15]

Member: Education and Employment 1997–2001, Education and Employment (Employment Sub-Committee) 1997–2001, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister 2004–05, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (Urban Affairs Sub-Committee) 2004–05, Treasury from 2007

Joint Secretary, Conservative Party Committee for Education and Employment 1997–2000 All-party groups (office-holding) Vice-chair Advertising Group from 2001; Secretary Cayman Islands Group from 2001; Treasurer Egypt Group from 2001; Vice-chair Montserrat Group from 2006; Secretary: Fluoridation Group from 2008, Infrastructure Group from 2008; Treasurer Thailand Group from 2009; Vice-chair Cannabis and Children Group from 2009. Since 2010, he has served as Chairman of the 1922 Committee.

Chair Durham University Conservative Association 1987–88; National Union Executive Committee 1988; Chair Northern Area Conservative Collegiate Forum 1987–89; Vice-chair East Berkshire Conservative Association 1993–95; Member Executive 1922 Committee 1998–2000, from 2007

Vice-chair All-Party Advertising Group from 2001; Secretary All-Party Cayman Islands Group from 2001; Treasurer All-Party Egypt Group from 2001; Vice-chair All-Party Montserrat Group from 2006; Member Select Committee on Treasury from 2007; Chairman 1922 Committee from 2010; Secretary All-Party: Fluoridation Group from 2008, Infrastructure Group from 2008; Treasurer All-Party Thailand Group from 2009; Vice-chair All-Party Cannabis and Children Group from 2009

On 29 January 2019, the House of Commons voted 317 to 301 to approve Sir Graham Brady's Amendment (n) to the Brexit Next Steps motion,[16] which called for "the Northern Ireland backstop to be replaced with alternative arrangements to avoid a hard border, supports leaving the European Union with a deal and would therefore support the Withdrawal Agreement subject to this change."

In May 2020, Brady called for the removal of "arbitrary rules and limitations on freedom" brought in by the government because of the COVID-19 pandemic. He said that the British public had been "a little too willing to stay at home".[17] Speaking out against a second lockdown, he also spoke about COVID-related mental health issues, such as increased rates of suicide and domestic abuse, as well as excess deaths caused due to reduced access for care.[18] Brady is also a steering committee member of the lockdown-sceptic COVID Recovery Group, a group of Conservative MPs who oppose the UK government's December 2020 lockdown.[19] They have been seen as an "echo" of the Brexiteer European Research Group (ERG) of MPs, and a response by backbench Conservatives to Nigel Farage's anti-lockdown Reform UK party.[19]