The 2009 election of the Speaker of the House of Commons occurred on 22 June 2009 following the resignation of Michael Martin as Speaker during the parliamentary expenses scandal. Martin was the first Speaker since Sir John Trevor in 1695 to be forced out of office. It was the first Speaker election since 11 May 2005, and the first contested election of a Speaker since 23 October 2000.
Conservative MP John Bercow was elected as the new speaker, after three rounds of voting.
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:
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:
Nominations.
No official list of MPs who nominated candidates was publicly released. A partial list of nominations is as follows:
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.
References.
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