31 Jul 24. Nominations open for Defence Committee Chair. MPs have begun the process of electing the chair of the Defence Committee in the new Parliament. The Speaker announced the timetable for the elections on July 30. The period of nominations will run until 4pm on Monday 9 September with the ballot scheduled for Wednesday 11 September. The new Chair will be elected from the Labour party under the allocation of committee chairs to political parties which was agreed by the House on 30 July. Since 2010, most committee chairs have been elected by the whole House, by a system of alternative vote and by secret ballot. Nominations must contain a signed statement made by the candidate declaring willingness to stand, and must be accompanied by the following number of original signatures of Members elected to the House as members of the same party as the candidate:
Labour Party: 15 signatures
Conservative Party: 12 signatures
Liberal Democrats: 7 signatures
In the event that more than the required number of signatures are submitted from the same party as the candidate, only the required number will be printed. Nominations may be accompanied by the signatures of up to five MPs elected to the House as members of any party other than to which the chair is allocated or of no party. Similarly, only five such signatures are printed.
Candidates must declare any relevant interests with their nomination.
Valid nominations received each day are published with the next day’s Order Paper and will be listed on the committee’s web page.