Election of the Commons Speaker
17 May 2010 (updated on 17 May 2010)
The process for choosing a Speaker of the House of Commons starts at 2.30pm on Tuesday 18 May 2010, the day Parliament returns.
What happens
The Father of the House – Sir Peter Tapsell, the backbench MP with the longest continuous Commons service – will preside over the election.
The Commons will be summoned to the House of Lords where the Lords Commissioners will direct the Commons to elect a Speaker.
When the Commons returns, if the Speaker in the previous Parliament, John Bercow, is willing to be chosen as Speaker, he will make a short speech to the House. A motion will be moved that the former Speaker take the chair as Speaker-elect.
Agreement
If MPs agree, the Speaker-elect takes the chair and there are then speeches of congratulation from the party leaders, and the House then adjourns.
The Commons would go to the Lords for the Royal Approbation of the Speaker on Wednesday 19 May, and return for the start of the MPs' swearing-in.
Objections
If anyone objects, a division - or vote - is held. If MPs do not agree that the former Speaker should take the chair as Speaker-elect, the House is adjourned until 2.30pm on Wednesday 19 May when it will elect a new Speaker by secret ballot. The procedure would be the same as that used in 2009.
Nominations
If the election goes to secret ballot, the list of candidates will be published in Parliament News on Wednesday 19 May as soon as it is available, around 11am.