On 4th November, the election of a
Speaker by secret ballot will take place in the House of
Commons.
We will be holding a media briefing session next week,
where a Parliamentary Clerk will answer questions on the
procedure. We will send further details in due course.
This note outlines the arrangements on the day of the
election of the Speaker.
Please note, that if dissolution occurs before the
4th November, the date of the Speakers Election
will change.
Nominations: 9.30am-10.30am, Monday 4 November
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Candidates submit written nominations on the morning of
the election.
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To be accepted, the nominations must include a signed
statement declaring a willingness to stand and signatures of
between 12 and 15 MPs who support their
nomination.
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A list of the candidates will be published on the
homepage of the Parliament website at 11am and available from
the Members’ Lobby.
Addressing the House: 2.30pm
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The Commons will meet at 2.30pm, with Father of the House
Rt Hon Mr MP presiding in the
Chair.
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If there is only one nomination, that candidate will
automatically be proposed as the Speaker.
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If there is more than one candidate, a ballot will be
held.
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A lot will decide the order of the candidate speeches,
which will be announced in advance.
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Speeches will be limited to five minutes.
The Ballot and Results
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The first ballot will be declared following the
conclusions of the addresses, and will run for 20
minutes.
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Each MP will receive a ballot paper with the names of all
the candidates listed in alphabetical order.
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It is a secret ballot and MPs can vote for only one
candidate.
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The results of the first ballot will be available approx.
one hour after the ballot closes, with results announced in the
Chamber.
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If any candidate gets more than 50 per cent of the votes,
that candidate will be proposed to the House as Speaker.
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If no candidate receives more than 50 per cent, MPs will
be asked to vote again after the announcement of the
results.
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Successive ballots will be held until either a candidate
wins more than 50 per cent of the votes, or only one candidate
remains.
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A motion will then be put to the House proposing that MP
as Speaker. If agreed, the successful MP will take the
chair.
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By tradition, the winner is then “dragged” by two
supporters from their seat on the Commons benches into the
Speaker's chair followed by congratulatory speeches from party
leaders.
Additional library briefings and further
background
For further background, we are circulating the following
briefings complied by our expert colleagues in the House of
Commons library:
