9.30am

Candidates have an hour to submit their nomination forms, containing the names of between 12 and 15 nominating MPs, three of whom cannot be from the candidate’s own party.

11am

The names of the candidates will be displayed on the “Annunciator” — screens around Westminster — and published on parliament.uk

2.30pm

The speeches. The Father of the House, Alan Williams, will preside over the election, sitting at the clerk’s table. Each candidate will give a speech to the assembled MPs. The order of the speeches will be decided by lot, and there is no time limit on speeches.

4.30pm (approximately)

The election. Each MP will receive a ballot paper listing the names of all the candidates in alphabetical order. They mark one candidate with a cross. MPs will vote in the division lobbies either side of the House of Commons chamber, and they will have 30 minutes to select one candidate from the list.

The ballot is being held in secret for the first time. If any candidate gets more than 50 per cent, he or she will be proposed to the House as Speaker. If no candidate receives more than 50 per cent, MPs will be asked to vote again.

Candidates with less than 5 per cent of the votes and the candidate who came last will be knocked out, and any candidate can withdraw within ten minutes of the result.

Each round of voting is expected to take two hours, including time for the counting of votes and a fresh set of ballot papers with the names of the remaining candidates to be printed.

When a candidate succeeds in the ballot there will be a motion put to the House proposing the successful MP as Speaker. If that is contested there will be a vote.

If the motion is agreed to, the successful MP will be dragged to the chair. He or she may say a few words with a foot on the chair. The Speaker-elect will then need to be approved by the Crown.

Source: Parliament.uk

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