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An election for Lord Speaker, the presiding officer of the House of Lords, took place on 8 June 2016, with the result announced on 13 June. [1] Incumbent Baroness D'Souza, who was at the end of her first term, announced on 11 February that she would not be standing for re-election. [2]
Members of the House of Lords who wished to stand for election were required to have a proposer and a seconder. The alternative vote system was used in the election and all members who had taken the oath in the current parliament and were not on leave of absence, disqualified or suspended from the House were eligible to vote. [3]
Timetable was as follows: [3]
The following members of the House were registered as candidates: [1]
Election of Lord Speaker, 8 June 2016 [4] | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Count 1 | ||
Conservative | Lord Fowler | 443 | ||
Liberal Democrats | Baroness Garden of Frognal | 111 | ||
Conservative | Lord Cormack | 85 | ||
Electorate: 802 Valid: 639 Quota: 320 Turnout: 640 |
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England.
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 members known as members of Parliament (MPs). MPs are elected to represent constituencies by the first-past-the-post system and hold their seats until Parliament is dissolved.
The Speaker of the House of Commons is the presiding officer of the House of Commons, the lower house and primary chamber of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The current speaker, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, was elected Speaker on 4 November 2019, following the retirement of John Bercow. Hoyle began his first full parliamentary term in the role on 17 December 2019, having been unanimously re-elected after the 2019 general election.
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The Lord Speaker of the House of Lords is the presiding officer, chairman and highest authority of the House of Lords in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The office is analogous to the Speaker of the House of Commons: the Lord Speaker is elected by the members of the House of Lords and is expected to be politically impartial.
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An election for Lord Speaker, the presiding officer of the House of Lords took place on 13 July 2011, with the result announced five days later. Baroness D'Souza, Convenor of the Crossbench Peers, was elected after the 5th stage of counting. She took office on 5 September 2011.
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The father of the House is a title that is bestowed on the senior member of the House of Commons who has the longest continuous service. If two or more members have the same length of current uninterrupted service, then whoever was sworn in earliest, as listed in Hansard, is named as Father of the House.
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