After his protracted bellowing of “Order! Order!” and use of pithy phrases has made him an unlikely online hit both sides of the Atlantic, John Bercow will chair his final PMQs as Commons Speaker on Wednesday. His decade in office has been overshadowed by bullying claims, which he denies. Whoever wins, the contest gives MPs an opportunity to refresh the Commons during a period of prolonged deadlock.
Mr Bercow’s successor will be chosen in a secret ballot of MPs on Monday 4 November – unless an election has been triggered before that date, which will speed up the contest. The date will be just two days before the expected deadline for the completion of the Brexit Bill, posing a huge challenge to whichever man or woman takes the chair.
There are nine candidates from Labour and Conservative parties vying to win one of the most prestigious posts in British politics. Here are the runners and riders:
Sir Lindsay Hoyle
The Lancastrian is the frontrunner in the race, having impressed MPs from all parties as Mr Bercow’s most senior deputy – who sits in the Speaker’s Chair on Budget Day and other key Commons moments. Sir Lindsay is a veteran Labour MP, representing Chorley since 1997. An easy bet, at 8/15 with William Hill, as many MPs might want continuity in the chair at a turbulent time.
Harriet Harman
Former deputy leader of the Labour party, who is now the Mother of the House of Commons as the longest-serving female MP, she is also seen across the chamber as a continuity candidate. She said recently: “I think at the end of my being speaker I’d want to be remembered not for what I’ve done, but for how Parliament is seen.” She has said that the role of Speaker more about being the “servant of Parliament” rather than being neutral between government and legislature. The MP for Camberwell and Peckham is currently the bookmakers’ second favourite, at 11/4.
Chris Bryant
The Labour MP and former minister is an expert on parliamentary history and procedure, which could give him a strong run in the contest’s first round. He has appealed for the next Speaker to be completely impartial and has criticised the recent sit-ins by MPs during the prorogation row, describing it as “chaos in the chamber” and the recent spate of clapping in the Commons. William Hill have him third favourite at 10/1.
Dame Eleanor Laing
Conservative MP Dame Eleanor is currently a deputy speaker and regarded by some backbenchers as a dark horse to win on 4 November. She has pitched herself as a less combative Speaker than Mr Bercow, saying she would like to be remembered as a “still, small voice of calm”, which could tempt MPs who want a break with the Bercow era. Currently 12/1 with William Hill.
Sir Edward Leigh
The Brexiteer veteran Conservative is an arch-traditionalist and one of the leading critics of the plans to refurbish the House of Commons, at a cost of billions of pounds, so would unlikely be continuing Mr Bercow’s modernising reforms. He has also been severely critical of Mr Bercow, saying the Speaker’s decision to let the Commons control parliamentary business earlier this year has made the country “ungovernable”. A long-shot with William Hill at 33/1.
Dame Rosie Winterton
Former Labour minister and then a chief whip in opposition under both Ed Miliband and Jeremy Corbyn gives her a background in both parliament and enforcing discipline. She is currently one of Mr Bercow’s deputy speakers. Is popular among MPs but is seen as an outsider in the contest.
Shailesh Vara
Conservative MP and former minister who has been one of Mr Bercow’s staunchest critics during the contest. At a hustings earlier this month he accused the Speaker of being “undignified” during the recent prorogation row, because he had “sought to be a player rather than the umpire who manages the players” and over his tenure had “tarnished” the role, behaving like a “playground bully”. Mr Vara has also said how proud he would be to be the first ethnic minority Speaker, “that I would send a powerful message to every single child in this country”. But he is also an outsider and bookies have offered no odds.
Sir Henry Bellingham
A veteran Conservative backbencher, briefly a junior minister under David Cameron. At a recent hustings he said he would bring back the traditional Speaker’s dress of a wig and gown. He is a descendant of John Bellingham, who killed the only British Prime Minister to be assassinated, Spencer Perceval. An outsider in the contest.
Meg Hillier
Labour MP and chairman of the public accounts committee, one of the most powerful select committees in Parliament, but has struggled to make an impact during the hustings and is not regarded as a likely winner. She has described the chamber sit-in by MPs earlier this month as “one of the most unedifying moments in our parliamentary history to have all that singing, shouting.”