2016 Lord Speaker election

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]

2016 Lord Speaker election

8 June 2016
Lord Speaker
Candidate The Lord Fowler The Baroness Garden of Frognal The Lord Cormack Party Conservative Liberal Democrats Conservative Popular vote 443 111 85 Percentage 69.3% 17.4% 13.3%
Lord Speaker before election The Baroness D'Souza Crossbench Elected Lord Speaker The Lord Fowler Conservative

Election procedure and timetable

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]

• Thursday 19 May 2016 (17:00) – Candidate registration deadline
• Monday 23 May 2016 – List of candidates published and ballot papers sent to members requesting a postal vote
• Wednesday 8 June 2016 – Voting day
• Monday 13 June 2016 – Results announced and Queen's approval notified
• Thursday 1 September 2016 – New Lord Speaker taking office
• Monday 5 September 2016 – New Lord Speaker presiding for the first time

Candidates

The following members of the House were registered as candidates:[1]

• The Lord Cormack (Conservative)
• The Lord Fowler (Conservative)
• The Baroness Garden of Frognal (Liberal Democrat)

Result

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

References

1. "House of Lords to elect new Lord Speaker". UK Parliament. 4 May 2016. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
2. "Lord Speaker not to seek re-election". UK Parliament. 11 February 2016. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
3. "Election of the Lord Speaker 2016". UK Parliament. 23 May 2016. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
4. "Election of the Speaker of the House of Lords: result" (PDF). House of Lords. 13 June 2016. Retrieved 13 June 2016.