House of Lords elects new Lord Speaker
4 May 2016 (updated on 4 May 2016)
Voting for the new Lord Speaker took place on 8 June 2016. The result was announced on 13 June 2016, and Lord Fowler has been appointed as the next Lord Speaker.
The Lord Speaker is elected by members of the House of Lords for five years. The new Lord Speaker will be the third in the House of Lords’ history, after the post was established in 2006. The present Lord Speaker, Baroness D’Souza, announced on 11 February 2016 that she would not seek re-election.
As well as overseeing proceedings in the Lords chamber, the Lord Speaker acts as an ambassador for the Lords in the UK and abroad, explaining the work of the House of Lords and its contribution to Parliament.
Voting
Voting for the new Lord Speaker took place on 8 June. The alternative vote system (AVS) was used to elect the Lord Speaker, and the vote was supervised by Electoral Reform Services. Further information on the voting system is available in the Lords Library briefing paper: Lord Speaker election 2016.
Election hustings held
A hustings event organised by the Hansard Society was held in the Queen's Robing Room on Wednesday 25 May 2016.
- Hansard Society Lord Speaker Hustings 2016 (external website)
Candidates
The candidates were:
You can also find out further information about the candidates, including their election addresses, records of parliamentary service, and entries in the Register of Lords' Interests.