2009 Speaker of the British House of Commons election

Rules

Voting took place in the House of Commons of the Fifty-Fourth Parliament of the United Kingdom.

Under the new rules for the election of the Speaker, introduced in 2001, candidates needed to be nominated by at least twelve Members of Parliament, at least three of them members of a party different from that of the candidate. Each member was allowed to nominate only one candidate. After the candidates' speeches, the House voted by secret ballot, with an absolute majority required for victory. If no candidate won a majority, then the individual with the fewest votes was eliminated, as were any candidates who received less than five per cent of the votes cast. The House continued to vote until one member received the requisite majority under a voting system known as the exhaustive ballot. Then, the House voted on a formal motion to appoint the member in question to the Speakership. The Father of the House, Alan Williams, was the presiding officer of the Commons during the election process.

The final stage of appointment of a new Speaker is a formality but has constitutional significance. The monarch must signify their approval of the new Speaker, which is done by the appointment of a Royal Commission.

Candidates

Announced

The following individuals all confirmed their intention to stand for election to the office of Speaker, and were all in turn confirmed as nominated candidates by the Parliamentary authorities on the morning of the election:

• Margaret Beckett (Labour)
• Alan Beith (Liberal Democrat)
• John Bercow (Conservative)
• Patrick Cormack (Conservative)
• Parmjit Dhanda (Labour)
• Sir Alan Haselhurst (Deputy Speaker/Conservative)
• Michael Lord (Deputy Speaker/Conservative)
• Richard Shepherd (Conservative)
• Ann Widdecombe (Conservative)
• Sir George Young (Conservative)

All 10 of the above candidates appeared at a Hansard Society hustings on 15 June. This was the first full hustings to take place for a Speaker election, although there was a hustings for the 2000 speaker election, which several of the candidates did not attend.

Withdrew prior to nomination

The following candidate withdrew before the election was held:

• Frank Field (Labour) – withdrew citing a lack of support from his own party; endorsed Widdecombe

Nominations

No official list of MPs who nominated candidates was publicly released. A partial list of nominations is as follows:

• Margaret Beckett – Denis MacShane (Lab), Ann Coffey (Lab), Richard Caborn (Lab), Linda Gilroy (Lab), Lynda Waltho (Lab), Glenda Jackson (Lab), John Battle (Lab), Clive Efford (Lab), Kelvin Hopkins (Lab), Geoffrey Robinson (Lab), Andy Slaughter (Lab), Paul Murphy (Lab), Greg Knight (Con), Angela Browning (Con), Sylvia Hermon (UUP).
• Alan Beith – Alan Whitehead (Lab), Denis Murphy (Lab), Mark Lazarowicz (Lab), Martin Linton (Lab), Fiona McTaggart (Lab), Elfyn Llwyd (Plaid), Vince Cable (LD), Jenny Willott (LD), Michael Moore (LD), Annette Brooke (LD), Chris Huhne (LD), Phil Willis (LD), Roger Williams (LD), Greg Mulholland (LD), Steve Webb (LD).
• John Bercow – Dai Davies (Ind), Charles Walker (Con), Malcolm Bruce (LD), Adam Price (Plaid), Karen Buck (Lab), Sandra Gidley (LD), Julie Morgan (Lab), Natascha Engel (Lab), Peter Kilfoyle (Lab), David Laws (LD), Anne Begg (Lab), Pete Wishart (SNP), Sadiq Khan (Lab), Patricia Hewitt (Lab), Mark Durkan (SDLP).
• Patrick Cormack – Peter Lilley (Con). Four other Conservatives, five from Labour, among others.
• Parmjit Dhanda – Malcolm Wicks (Lab), Alison Seabeck (Lab), David Drew (Lab), Howard Stoate (Lab), John Hemming (LD), among others.
• Sir Alan Haselhurst – John Gummer (Con), Daniel Kawczynski (Con), Michael Fallon (Con), Robert Walter (Con), Oliver Heald (Con), Edward Leigh (Con), Eddie O'Hara (Lab), Harry Cohen (Lab), George Howarth (Lab), Jim Dowd (Lab), Eric Illsley (Lab), Janet Anderson (Lab), John Thurso (LD), Bob Russell (LD).
• Michael Lord – No nominations publicly available.
• Richard Shepherd – No nominations publicly available.
• Ann Widdecombe – Frank Field (Lab), Kim Howells (Lab), John Grogan (Lab), Jim Dobbin (Lab), Nigel Evans (Con), Mark Pritchard (Con), Philip Hollobone (Con), Nadine Dorries (Con), Sammy Wilson (DUP), among others.
• Sir George Young – Chris Mullin (Lab), Tony Wright (Lab), Stephen Pound (Lab), Fabian Hamilton (Lab), Keith Hill (Lab), Richard Ottaway (Con), Gary Streeter (Con), Michael Jack (Con), James Arbuthnot (Con), Nicholas Soames (Con), Michael Ancram (Con), John Butterfill (Con), David Curry (Con), Peter Bottomley (Con), Peter Luff (Con).

Results

The result of the first secret ballot was announced at 17:10 on 22 June 2009, after the nominated candidates had all addressed the House of Commons. The result of the second ballot was announced at approximately 18:55. Following the result of the second ballot, Beckett, Haselhurst and Beith withdrew their candidacies after their support fell, leaving a straight runoff in the third round between two Conservative MPs, John Bercow and George Young. The result of the third ballot was announced around 20:30. Bercow won, with 54% of the final vote.

Following the final vote, the question was put "That John Bercow do take the Chair of this House as Speaker", which was carried without any audible opposition. After this, Bercow was dragged to the Chair (as per House custom) by Charles Walker and Sandra Gidley, and gave an inaugural speech as Speaker-Elect.

Later that evening, Bercow was formally appointed Speaker by receiving the Queen's approbation through a Royal Commission in the House of Lords.

Notes

References

References

1. (19 May 2009). "Under-fire Speaker to step down". BBC News.
2. (19 May 2009). "How will new Speaker be chosen?". BBC News.
3. (12 June 2001). "Standing Orders of the House of Commons – Public Business 2001". publications.parliament.uk.
4. (22 June 2009). "Who is 'Father of the House'?". BBC News.
5. (22 June 2009). "Speaker candidates announced". parliament.uk.
6. (10 June 2009). "Beckett joins race to be Speaker". BBC News.
7. (19 May 2009). "Beith responds to resignation of Speaker Martin". Rt Hon Sir Alan Beith MP.
8. Nicholas Watt. (20 May 2009). "John Bercow says he is ready for the Speaker's role". The Guardian.
9. Hencke, David. (10 June 2009). "British Asian MP puts himself forward to be first ethnic-minority Speaker of Commons". The Guardian.
10. Lucy Ward & Paul Owen. (22 May 2009). "Sir Alan Haselhurst enters race to become Commons Speaker". The Guardian.
11. Sparrow, Andrew. (15 June 2009). "Commons Speaker hustings – live blog". The Guardian.
12. (11 June 2009). "Ann Widdecombe seeks Speaker role". BBC News.
13. (9 June 2009). "Sir George throws his hat into the ring for the Speakership". Sir George Young MP.
14. "Hansard Society Speaker Hustings". [[Hansard Society]].
15. (17 October 2000). "Speaker candidates issue electoral statements". The Guardian.
16. (12 June 2009). "Frank Field MP: Speakership Statement". frankfield.co.uk.
17. (20 June 2009). "The Speakership nominations so far".
18. (22 June 2009). "An insider's guide to the election of The Speaker". The Times.
19. Sparrow, Andrew. (22 June 2009). "Commons Speaker contest: election day blog – live". The Guardian.
20. "House of Commons Hansard Debates for 22 Jun 2009 (pt 0003)".
21. "House of Commons Hansard Debates for 22 Jun 2009 (pt 0004)".
22. "House of Commons Hansard Debates for 22 Jun 2009 (pt 0004)".
23. Boulton, Adam. (22 June 2009). "Speaker Race – Round One". [[Sky News]].
24. "House of Commons Hansard Debates for 22 Jun 2009 (pt 0005)".