On 15 October 2019, all nine original candidates to be the new Speaker of the House of Commons participated in a hustings event in Westminster, hosted jointly by the Hansard Society and The House magazine, and chaired by the BBC's Carolyn Quinn.
The event was attended by a large number of MPs, who had the opportunity to put questions to the candidates seeking their support, as well as by parliamentary and MPs' staff, and journalists. Each candidate made an opening statement about their approach to, and priorities for, the role, before taking questions.
The hustings was held three weeks before the House was to decide on the successor to John Bercow, who was stepping down after over a decade in the chair.
The 2019 event continued the Hansard Society's involvement in Speaker hustings, after the Society hosted the first-ever public Commons Speaker hustings in 2009, and then did the same for the Speakership of the House of Lords in 2016.
In 2019, the nine candidates running for the Commons Speakership at the time of the hustings, and who took part in the event, were:
Sir Henry Bellingham;
Chris Bryant;
Harriet Harman;
Meg Hillier;
Sir Lindsay Hoyle;
Dame Eleanor Laing;
Sir Edward Leigh;
Shailesh Vara; and
Dame Rosie Winterton.
Sir Henry Bellingham and Shailesh Vara withdrew from the race before the House voted on 4 November.
The hustings were recorded and broadcast by BBC Parliament.
In our latest ‘Whipping Yarn’, we talk with Simon Hart, former Conservative Chief Whip during Rishi Sunak’s Premiership. Hart opens up about his time in one of Westminster’s most demanding and discreet roles, chronicled in his new book, ‘Ungovernable: The Political Diaries of a Chief Whip’.
If a crisis or major national event occurs during a period when Parliament is adjourned, there are often demands from MPs, the media and the public for Parliament to be ‘recalled’. But the House of Commons Standing Orders stipulate that only Government Ministers - in reality, the Prime Minister - can ask the Speaker to recall the House. In recent years the House of Lords has generally been recalled at the same time as the House of Commons.
In response to the Modernisation Committee's call for views on 17 October 2024, we submitted evidence outlining key areas we believe the Committee should prioritise. Our submission recommended a focus on: strengthening legislative scrutiny, with particular emphasis on reforming the delegated legislation system; enhancing financial scrutiny, especially in relation to the Budget and the Estimates; addressing strategic gaps in parliamentary scrutiny; making more effective use of parliamentary time; and reviewing the Standing Orders, language and rituals of the House of Commons.
This briefing explains what to watch for during the Second Reading debate of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill on 29 November. It outlines the procedural and legislative issues that will come into play: the role of the Chair in managing the debate and how procedures such as the 'closure' and 'reasoned amendments' work. It looks ahead to the Committee and Report stage procedures that will apply if the Bill progresses beyond Second Reading. It also examines the government's responsibilities, such as providing a money resolution for the Bill and preparing an Impact Assessment, while addressing broader concerns about the adequacy of Private Members’ Bill procedures for scrutinising controversial issues.
In this ninth instalment of our special mini-podcast series, we continue to explore the latest developments in the progress of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, often referred to as the assisted dying bill. We are joined by Dr Marie Tidball MP to discuss the amendments she has secured for a Disability Advisory Board and an independent advocate for people with learning disabilities.
