Drawing conclusions about trends in the Conservative Parliamentary Party from Select Committee elections is a hazardous business. None the less, yesterday’s results weren’t at all bad for the Brexiteers – or Conservative Friends of Israel, for that matter.
Priti Patel was elected to the Foreign Affairs Select Committee. Her support for Israel needs no introduction. The other successful candidate was Bob Seely, who is a bit of a liberal interventionist. Adam Holloway, Andrew Percy, James Gray, John Baron and Daniel Kawczynski also stood.
Over at the Treasury Select Committee election, Simon Clarke won out over Mark Garnier, Neil O’Brien and Vicky Ford. One view is that Clarke’s backing among the “northern caucus” of Tory MPs was as telling as his backing for Brexit. This site is told that Derek Thomas and Martin Vickers were elected to the Health Select Committee.