Bid to change Speaker election rules

Written By Unknown on Kamis, 26 Maret 2015 | 16.50

John Bercow
John Bercow is the current Speaker of the House of Commons

A last-minute bid to change the way the Speaker of the House of Commons is elected is to be debated by MPs.

Labour criticised the government motion, to be debated on the final day before the dissolution of Parliament, saying the Conservatives were "trying to play politics with the speakership".

Under the proposals, a secret ballot would decide whether there should be a contested election for the post.

MPs currently have to file through the division lobbies to cast their vote.

This means it is clear who does or does not back the incumbent as Speaker.

Labour's shadow leader of the Commons Angela Eagle raised the party's concerns in the House on Wednesday evening, questioning whether the motion was within parliamentary rules.

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Analysis by Robin Brant, BBC political correspondent

Commons chamber

Current Speaker John Bercow used to be one of them, but many Tory MPs have never liked him.

They resent his personal style and some believe he is far from impartial in the way he conducts business in the Commons.

Attempts by some to force a vote on his resumption as Speaker in 2010 came to nothing. There have been the occasional measured jibes at him from the prime minister.

Other Tories reportedly went much further and formed a group whose members had all been reprimanded by him. But the Speaker is a reformer who believes passionately that the people who elect the members, and pay the bills, should come first.

The last act of the coalition looks like being an attempt to unseat him. And they are very serious about it.

One Tory MP fighting an important marginal seat had been cleared by his party to be away from Parliament but he is now staying for the vote, such is the importance of it.

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She told Deputy Speaker Lindsay Hoyle: "It's just come to my attention that the government has tabled a motion for debate on the final day of this Parliament, with no notice whatsoever to myself as shadow leader of the House, proposing changes to the way in which the Speaker of this House is elected.

"Procedural matters in this House, with no consultation with the opposition, no consultation with the chair of the committee itself, for debate in only one hour tomorrow."

Mr Hoyle said the motion had been "rightly or wrongly" agreed to on Tuesday, saying that "business of the House is decided by the government, not by the chair."

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The Commons Speaker

  • The Speaker presides over the House of Commons and is responsible for keeping order during debates and ensuring that the rules of the House are obeyed
  • Once elected, the Speaker, a serving MP, ceases to represent any political party
  • They must always act impartially and protect the right of all MPs to speak during debates
  • The Speaker is elected using a secret ballot of MPs
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A spokesman for Commons Leader William Hague said the motion had been tabled as a free hour had opened up in Thursday's business after the House of Lords approved the Modern Slavery Bill.

The proposed change would apply when a Speaker wishes to continue in the post after a general election.

Under the current rules, if the Speaker's re-appointment is objected to, a division is held, with MPs choosing to back or oppose the Speaker in the division lobbies.

The replacement of this method with a secret ballot was suggested in 2010 by a committee of MPs, which said the public method "can be seen as a deterrent to the House expressing its views honestly".

MPs will now debate whether this change should be made.


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