How do MPs elect deputy speakers at the start of a new Parliament?

Publications / Briefings

Back to Business: Election of the Deputy Speakers

3 Jul 2024

The three Deputy Speakers in the 2019-24 Parliament: Dame Eleanor Laing MP, Dame Rosie Winterton MP, and Nigel Evans MP. ©House of Commons/Jessica Taylor

One of the Speaker’s first decisions will be to decide a date for the election of the Deputy Speakers. The House of Commons has three Deputy Speakers who assist the Speaker by chairing debates in his absence. So what happens in the interim until the Deputy Speakers are appointed? Unlike the Speaker, the Deputy Speakers do not resign from their party when they take up their post. How are the three posts allocated between the parties?

On the day of the King’s Speech, pending the election of the Deputy Speakers, the Speaker nominates up to three MPs to serve temporarily in the role. In 2019 the temporary Deputy Speakers were Sir Roger Gale, Sir George Howarth, and Sir Gary Streeter (only Sir Roger Gale is seeking re-election to Parliament at the General Election).

When are the Deputy Speakers elected?

The Standing Orders do not specify a date for the Deputy Speakers’ election, only that the Speaker sets out the arrangements:

“At the commencement of every Parliament, or from time to time, as necessity may arise, the Speaker shall notify the House of the arrangements to be made to elect a Chairman of Ways and Means and two Deputy Chairmen of Ways and Means…” [1]

However, the Standing Orders do require the ballot to be held between 11am and noon on the day appointed for the election.

In recent years, the election of Deputy Speakers has been held between four and six sitting days after the King’s Speech. The precise date will depend on whether the House sits on Friday 19 July and when the House rises for Summer recess. The Speaker normally announces the date for the election around the time of the King’s Speech.

How are the Deputy Speaker roles allocated to the parties?

The first Deputy Speaker is the Chairman of Ways and Means, who historically presided over debates on financial matters. The Chairman of Ways and Means continues to have duties beyond those of the two other Deputy Speakers, such as normally presiding over the Budget debate, any Committee of the Whole House, and in connection with legislative committees, private bills and Westminster Hall sittings

Under Standing Order No.2A, the Chairman of Ways and Means and the Second Deputy Chairman should come from the opposite side of the House to the Speaker, while the First Deputy Chairman should be from the same side of the House as the Speaker.[2] The Standing Order also prescribes that among the Speaker and three Deputy Speakers there should be at least one man and one woman.

As Sir Lindsay Hoyle was previously a Labour MP then, assuming Labour wins the General Election, one of the three Deputy Speaker must be chosen from the Government benches and the other two Deputy Speakers from the Opposition ranks. The Chairman of Ways and Means must come from the Opposition benches. Of the three Deputy Speakers in the last Parliament (Dame Eleanor Laing (Cons), Dame Rosie Winterton (Lab) and Nigel Evans (Cons)) only the latter is seeking re-election at the General Election. It is likely that if returned to Parliament he will seek re-election as one of the Deputy Speakers.

How are the Deputy Speakers elected?

The three Deputy Speakers are elected by secret ballot, using the Single Transferable Vote system.

Nominations for the Deputy Speakerships must be submitted between 10am and 5pm on the day before the election. Candidates require the support of between six and 10 Members. The elections are held between 11am and 12 noon, with the winners taking-up their posts the following day.

Once elected, Deputy Speakers remain in office until the dissolution of the Parliament, unless they resign or otherwise cease to be an MP.

Endnotes

[1] Standing Order No.2, House of Commons Standing Orders for Public Business, as at 23 October 2023

[2] Standing Order No.2A, House of Commons Standing Orders for Public Business, as at 23 October 2023

Back to Business: A guide to the start of the new Parliament

Parliamentary calendar: Sessions, sittings and recesses

Sir Lindsay Hoyle MP 'dragged' to the chair, having been elected as Speaker of the House of Commons, 4 November 2019. ©UK Parliament/Jessica Taylor

Election of the Speaker

The three Deputy Speakers in the 2019-24 Parliament: Dame Eleanor Laing MP, Dame Rosie Winterton MP, and Nigel Evans MP. ©House of Commons/Jessica Taylor

Election of the Deputy Speakers

Michael Shanks sworn-in as an MP, 16 October 2023. ©UK Parliament/Andy Bailey

Swearing In

King Charles III delivers the King's Speech, 7 November 2023. ©House of Lords/Roger Harris

State Opening of Parliament and King's Speech

Committee corridor, House of Commons. ©House of Commons/Jessica Taylor

Setting up Select Committees

The Chancellor Jeremy Hunt walks outside Downing Street with the Budget box. ©HM Treasury / Zara Farrar

The Budget and Estimates

MPs queue to present their ballot bills to the House of Commons, 6 December 2023. ©UK Parliament/Andy Bailey

Private Members' Bill (PMB) ballot

The opposition benches in the House of Commons, 22 May 2024. ©UK Parliament

Opposition parties

The new Parliament will assemble on Tuesday 9 July 2024, five days after the General Election. This guide explains the ceremonial, legislative, organisational and procedural processes that are engaged at the start of the Parliament. It examines the challenges a July General Election poses to the parliamentary calendar over the Summer and looks at the Government's plans with respect to legislation and public finances.

Download the Guide

Latest / Highlights

News / Do petitions work? Inside the Commons Committee that actually decides - Parliament Matters podcast, Episode 114

Ten years after the House of Commons Petitions Committee was created – does it actually work? Does it genuinely shift policy? Or is it an emotional release valve? In this special anniversary episode, we bring together four Chairs of the Petitions Committee – one current, three former – for a candid conversation about what happens after hundreds of thousands (or sometimes millions) of people click “sign”. Please help us by completing our Listener Survey. It will only take a few minutes.

News / Parliament Matters Bulletin: What’s coming up in Parliament this week? 10-14 November 2025

Peers begin clause-by-clause scrutiny of the assisted dying Bill, after a Joint Committee on Human Rights evidence session on its impact on disabled people. David Lammy takes Justice questions in the Commons. The Planning and Infrastructure Bill completes its Lords stages and begins Commons ping-pong. MPs hold a Remembrance Day debate on the armed forces. Prime Minister’s Questions is followed by a Conservative Opposition Day. The Lords continue detailed scrutiny of the Border Security Bill, Tobacco and Vapes Bill, and Crime and Policing Bill and debate the Sentencing Bill for the first time. Four Secretaries of State face questions from Select Committees and Dame Antonia Romeo, the Home Office Permanent Secretary, will face scrutiny of her department’s performance.

Briefings / The assisted dying bill: A guide to the legislative process in the House of Lords

Having passed through the House of Commons, the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill - the Bill to legalise assisted dying in England and Wales - must now go through its legislative stages in the House of Lords. This guide explains the special procedures for legislation in the House of Lords, and for Private Members’ Bills in particular. It answers some frequently asked questions, including how Peers might block the Bill, and gives an explanation of each stage of the process, from Second to Third Reading.

News / Parliament, the Monarch & the birth of party politics: How did it happen? - Parliament Matters podcast, Episode 113

As Britain’s modern party system frays, we rewind 300+ years to Queen Anne’s reign to trace the messy, very human birth of Britain’s party politics in conversation with historian George Owers, author of Rage of Party. He charts how religion, war, and raw parliamentary management forged early party politics, as the Whigs and Tories hardened into recognisable parties. Parliament turned from an occasional royal event into a permanent institution, and the job that would later be called “Prime Minister” began to take shape through court craft and parliamentary number-crunching. Please help us by completing our Listener Survey. It will only take a few minutes.

Briefings / Assisted dying - The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill: Rolling news

Stay informed with updates and analysis on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill as it moves through Parliament. Learn about the debates, procedures, decisions, and key milestones shaping the assisted dying legislation.