U.K. Parliament to Elect Replacement to Speaker John Bercow

(Bloomberg) --

The U.K. House of Commons will elect a new speaker on Monday to replace John Bercow before it dissolves for the country’s general election in just over five weeks.

The vote will probably be the last major decision of this Parliament, which Prime Minister Boris Johnson has called “dead” and repeatedly attacked for stymieing his Brexit plan.

When Parliament dissolves on Wednesday, it will mark the official start of the campaign. Not all current members of parliament who vote for the new speaker will return. Some, like Bercow, are stepping down, while others may lose their seats in the Dec. 12 poll.

Bercow’s rulings during Brexit debates have made him the most controversial speakers in recent memory, while his idiosyncratic style made him a minor celebrity in the U.K. and overseas. His decision last month not to allow Johnson to hold a second vote on his Brexit deal -- two days after members had rejected it -- played a key role in the premier failing to get it passed in time for the Oct. 31 deadline.

His deputy Lindsey Hoyle is seen as the favorite to win the ballot, according to bookmaker Ladbrokes. The Labour MP has framed himself as an “antidote” to Bercow and said his style of using humor can diffuse tensions, whereas Bercow’s bellicose remarks can add fuel to the fire.

The speaker has a pivotal role in Parliament, shaping debates, ordering politicians to stop speaking, and smoothing proceedings in what can be a rowdy lower chamber.

The Nastiness of Politics

Hoyle, 62, has said one of his first acts will be to call a summit with all the party leaders to find a way of taking the “nastiness” out of politics. On Saturday, Armed Forces Minister Mark Lancaster said he won’t be standing again, following Culture Minister Nicky Morgan a few days earlier. Along with their former Conservative Heidi Allen, they cited abuse for doing their job.

But the “exhaustive ballot” voting system, which is due to begin at about 2:30 p.m. on Monday, could deliver a surprise result. If no candidate wins a majority, the individual with the fewest votes is eliminated and MPs continue voting until one candidate gets a majority.

Conservative Eleanor Laing, who was also a deputy for the 56-year-old Bercow, and Labour MP Harriet Harman are seen as the closest rivals to Hoyle among the eight expected candidates.

The Prime Minister’s Brexit Nemesis: Speaker Bercow

Speakers have the power to select amendments, and rule on which motions are in order for the House to consider. Amendments have been one of the key tools MPs have used to take control of the daily agenda and shape the U.K.’s divorce from the European Union. That includes the Benn Act, which forced Johnson to request a delay to the Oct. 31 deadline.

The election adds a new level of unpredictability to the decision, as some MPs may already be in their constituencies campaigning rather than in London to vote for the new speaker.

In other developments:

• Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage confirmed he won’t stand at this election, which would have been his eighth attempt to get a seat in Parliament
• Boris Johnson apologized to Tory party members for missing the Oct. 31 Brexit deadline, which he had promised to deliver “do or die”
• Tory MP Ross Thompson stood down following accusations that he sexually assaulted a Labour MP in a bar in Parliament
• Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said he’d instructed his shadow cabinet to fall into line after divisions on Brexit sparked a row over whether to go for an election
• Labour economy spokesman John McDonnell said the party could scrap plans for a third runway at Heathrow Airport if elected, in line with its climate change policy

To contact the reporter on this story: Jessica Shankleman in London at jshankleman@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Tim Ross at tross54@bloomberg.net, James Ludden, Steve Geimann

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