NOMINATION
11. Under the present arrangements, the House appoints
a deputy Speaker by agreeing to a motion moved, without notice,
by a member of the Government (since 1979 this has been invariably
the Leader of the House). The name in the motion is arrived at
following consultation between the 'usual channels', that is,
the business managers and party whips, particularly those of the
Government and the official Opposition. The discussions which
take place, both within and between parties, take place entirely
in private, and only rarely does the name of a proposed candidate
leak to the Press before it is put to the House.
12. Because of the private nature of these discussions,
no subsequent record is published and so any comment on their
nature must be speculative. However, on the basis of our own informal
meetings with members of the 'usual channels', we can make a number
of statements about what takes place and about the objectives
and intentions of those involved. In nominating a candidate or
candidates, the parties will have regard to the convention, discussed
further below, that the Speaker's team should show a balance between
Government and Opposition benches. They will also be keen to ascertain
that any proposed candidate is likely to be acceptable to the
House as a whole, and that the Speaker, who will have to work
closely with whoever is chosen, has no objection to the individual
concerned.
13. In assessing potential candidates, the party
whips have one particular advantage. Because of their own role
in standing committees on bills and on delegated legislation (each
such committee has a duty whip from the Government and the official
opposition), they have the opportunity to observe on a regular
basis members of the Chairmen's Panel chairing public business.
They can thus readily assess the extent to which members of the
Panel are assured in the Chair, possess procedural knowledge,
can handle difficult situations with authority, and can command
the respect of all sides.
14. We received some evidence that decisions on nominations
may be taken by the 'usual channels' without direct consultation
with the candidates themselves. The present Chairman of Ways and
Means, Sir Alan Haselhurst, told us about his experience of the
nomination process.[10]
He indicated that he knew "next to nothing about the circumstances
of [his] own appointment in 1997":
"On the day following the Speaker's re-election,
I was approached by the Opposition Deputy Chief Whip and was asked
if I would be ready to accept nomination. It was not until the
day before the State Opening that the Opposition Chief Whip was
in touch to say that I would definitely be named in the Leader
of the House's motion the following day. Two hours after the approval
of the motion, I was in the Chair for the first time."[11]
APPOINTMENT
15. As we have seen, the motion for appointment of
the Chairman of Ways and Means and Deputy Chairmen is, by custom,
moved by a member of the Government (since 1979 invariably the
Leader of the House) and put to the House without notice. At the
start of a Parliament, the motion is made on the day of the Queen's
Speech, immediately before the opening of the debate on the Loyal
Address. Circumstances dictate that no formal notice of the motion
can be given, because no Order Paper can be produced for the first
day of a Session. Motions to fill Deputy Speaker posts which have
fallen vacant during a Parliament (following death, resignation
or election to the Speakership) are also made without notice,
following agreement between the 'usual channels'. In these circumstances
it is less likely that the House will be able to anticipate the
precise moment when the Government intends to move the appointment.
7 Other than in certain specialised circumstances such
as when chairing the Court of Referees or the Standing Orders
Committee. Back
8
Erskine May, 22nd edition (1997), p. 196; the last example
was in 1986. Back
9
This power was last exercised in the summer recess of 1999, in
respect of the Wigan and Hamilton South by-elections. Back
10
Appendix 1, Ev 1. Back
11
Ev 1. Speaker Boothroyd was re-elected on 7 May 1997, and State
Opening took place on 14 May. Back
