1992 Committee

In the UK, a body made up of all the Conservative Party's backbench MPs, who hold neither portfolios in the government or shadow cabinet. It originated in a meeting in October 1922 at the party's Carlton Club in London, when the party's MPs voted against the policy of the Conservative leader, Austen Chamberlain to remain in the coalition government led by the Liberal, Lloyd George. In the 1990s the Committee comprised an elected chairman and an executive which meets weekly when the House of Commons is sitting. The Committee exerts considerable influence in relaying backbencher concerns to the party's leadership and in the process of removing unpopular leaders.