SIR Lindsay Hoyle, after four rounds of MPs’ votes, finally won the contest to succeed John Bercow as the House of Commons Speaker.
The well-respected Labour politician, a former Deputy Speaker and the bookie’s favourite, received 325 votes compared to his final challenger, Labour colleague Chris Bryant’s 213, winning more than 50 per cent of the votes.
Paisley-born Dame Eleanor Laing was knocked out in the third round after securing 127 votes while Harriet Harman, the former Deputy Labour leader and Mother of the House, withdrew following the second round vote when she received 59 votes.
Speakers must be politically impartial, meaning Sir Lindsay will be required to resign from the Labour Party in order to carry out his duties.
After winning the final round of voting after a slow and ponderous process lasting almost six hours and involving seven candidates, Sir Lindsay was, as convention dictates, escorted to the chair by MPs as a seemingly unwilling winner, where he pledged to be a "neutral" and “transparent” Speaker.
His predecessor in the Chair was often a controversial figure, facing allegations of bullying and bias, charges Mr Bercow always strenuously denied.
Sir Lindsay, who represents Chorley in Lancashire, told MPs: “This House will change but it will change for the better."
He told MPs: "I stand by what I said; I stand firm that I hope this House will be once again a great respected House, not just in here but across the world.
"We've got to make sure that tarnish is polished away, that the respect and tolerance that we expect from everyone who works in here will be shown and we'll keep that in order."
He thanked his staff and family and paid a moving tribute to his 28-year-old daughter, Natalie, who died at her home in Essex in 2017.
The 62-year-old said: "There is one person who is not here; my daughter Natalie. I wish she could have been here. She was everything to all of us," adding she would "always be missed".
Following the election, Boris Johnson was the first to pay tribute to the new Speaker, saying he was certain Sir Lindsay would support backbenchers and show his "signature kindness and reasonableness”.
“Mr Speaker, over the years I have observed that you have many good qualities and I'm sure you will stick up for backbenchers in the way that you have proposed and I'm sure that you will adhere to a strict Newtonian concept of time in PMQs." A quip about how Mr Bercow often allowed the weekly joust to go on for almost an hour.
The Prime Minister told MPs: “Because no matter how fiercely we may disagree, we know that every member comes to this place with the best of motives, determined to solve, to serve the oldest parliamentary democracy in the world.
"And to achieve our goals by the peaceable arts of reason and debate invigilated by an impartial Speaker, which was and remains one of our greatest gifts to the world. Thank you Mr Speaker and congratulations."
Jeremy Corbyn praised Sir Lindsay for taking the welfare of Commons staff and MPs "very, very seriously" and the Labour leader said he was certain he would continue to do so.
Patrick Grady for the SNP congratulated the new Speaker and wished him “every success,” saying the Nationalist benches appreciated the pledge to “protect and respect” the rights of the third party and the smaller parties.
Jo Swinson for the Liberal Democrats said Sir Lindsay had "always taken great care" of MPs and welcomed his promise to take the welfare of Commons staff seriously. The Scot also said she hoped he would continue with the modernisation process of Parliament.
Nigel Dodds, the DUP’s Westminster, added his congratulations to Sir Lindsay, saying the Commons was "looking for a breath of fresh air".
Beaten candidate Dame Eleanor said she was "proud" of Mr Hoyle and took to social media, tweeting: "Many congratulations to @LindsayHoyle_MP on becoming Speaker of the @HouseofCommons. We've worked together, as deputies, for six years and have been great friends. Proud of you! E."
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