Newington's Tiffany Burrows looks at the runners and riders for the election of Select Committee Chairs.

On Tuesday (4 July) the motion to allocate the Chairs of Select Committees to each of the political parties was agreed in the House of Commons. The only change from the 2015 Parliament is that a member of the Liberal Democrats, instead of a Conservative, will now chair the Science and Technology Committee.

Elections for Select Committee Chairs were introduced in 2010, and it’s important to remember that they are elected by the whole House, not just by their own party, meaning all candidates must attract a broad set of supporters from both government and opposition benches. There has been no absence of speculation surrounding who will be the runners and riders for the vacant positions, particularly following the departure of political heavyweights Andrew Tyrie, former Chair of the Treasury Committee, and Iain Wright, former Chair of the Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Committee.

The most visible battle will play out in the election for the Treasury Committee, where Brexiteer and Remainer MPs are going head to head. Andrew Tyrie was well respected across the House with his forensic eye for detail and willingness to hold ministers to account, so the House will want to choose a credible candidate to replace him. The Committee must be chaired by a Conservative, and there is no shortage of contenders.

From the Brexiteer camp, backbench MP and current Treasury Committee Member Jacob Rees-Mogg is one of the frontrunners, though he faces competition from his colleague Richard Bacon MP, who has served on the Public Accounts Committee since 2001. From the other wing of the party, former Education Secretary Nicky Morgan MP is also setting out her case, citing her experience as a lawyer and Treasury minister. Her vocal criticisms of Theresa May, who sacked her last year, haven’t endeared Morgan to her own party, but as voting includes the opposition, she will be more palatable to Labour MPs than Rees-Mogg given her ardent and vocal opposition to a hard Brexit. Other Remainers throwing their hat into the ring are former Transport Minister Stephen Hammond MP, and former whip John Penrose MP. Charlie Elphicke MP, member of the Public Accounts Committee and former tax lawyer is also running, so it is certainly a crowded field!

Much like Tyrie, Iain Wright was a formidable Committee Chair and Parliament will miss him for his consensual style of working. His replacement must be a Labour MP and the candidates in the running are Rachel Reeves MP, Liam Byrne MP and Ian Lucas MP. Byrne, Reeves and Lucas all have strong records as former senior frontbenchers, with Byrne and Reeves both having been Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary. Liam Byrne was the Chief Secretary to the Treasury who famously left the “there’s no money left” note on the desk of his successor, David Laws, when leaving government in 2010. Reeves is currently the frontrunner – she is generally well-liked and respected on both sides of the House, and from the Conservative point of view has the advantage of being a critic of Jeremy Corbyn. Keep an eye out for Stephen Kinnock, though, who may be a last minute entrant into the ring.

Louise Ellman MP is stepping down from the Chairmanship of the Transport Committee, which she has held for eight years and must therefore stand aside under the rules of the Commons, leaving a sought-after vacancy. The only remaining Labour members who served on the committee in the last Parliament are Clive Efford MP and Graham Stringer MP but neither has publicly announced their candidacy. It is rumoured that former Environmental Audit Committee member Geraint Davies MP is keen to be Ellman’s replacement.

The election of Select Committee Chairs will take place on Wednesday 12 July, which could leave time for the membership to be elected before Summer Recess. When Parliament returns in the autumn, the committees will start to get to work on new inquiries.

The scope of the Select Committees will be important in shaping policy and challenging the operation of government over the next couple of years. To find out how they could affect your organisation get in touch with Newington Account Manager Tiffany Burrows by emailing [email protected].