I have to report that this House has been in the House of Lords where Her Majesty, by Her Royal Commissioners, has been pleased to approve the choice made of myself for the Office of Speaker. I have, in your name and on your behalf, made claim by humble petition to Her Majesty to all your ancient and undoubted rights and privileges, particularly to freedom of speech in debate, freedom from arrest, and freedom of access to Her Majesty whenever occasion shall require, and that the most favourable construction shall be put upon all proceedings. All these Her Majesty, by Her Commissioners, has been pleased to confirm in as ample a manner as they have ever been granted or confirmed by Herself of by any of Her Royal Predecessors.
My first duty to the House is to report my respectful acknowledgement and grateful thanks for the great honour you have conferred upon me in placing me in the Chair.
I must now call on the Members of the House, according to the usual custom, to take the Oath of Allegiance or to affirm at the Table of the House, first doing so myself.
The Speaker first, alone, standing on the upper step of the Chair, made and subscribed the Affirmation required by law.
I should remind hon. Members that until they take the Oath or affirm, they must not sit during any debate or vote in any Division of the House, and will not receive any salary.
The arrangements for swearing in are set out in the Chamber information sheet, and a guidance note is also available from the Table and Vote Offices.
I propose to call first the Father of the House, the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton (Sir Gerald Kaufman), then members of the Cabinet, then members of the shadow Cabinet, then all Privy Counsellors not included in those two groups, wherever they may be sitting, and then other Ministers. Thereafter, I shall call other hon. Members according to the Parliament of their first entry, or, for those with broken service, that of most recent entry. The first batch will be those elected in or prior to the 2001-05 Parliament. Thereafter I shall proceed to call Members by successive Parliaments. Realistically, I do not expect to call new Members until tomorrow.
I propose to remain in the Chair until 5 pm today, and then to return at 5.30 pm and continue until 7 pm if necessary. The House will sit again tomorrow at 11.30 am, on Thursday at 9.30 am, and on Tuesday at 2.30 pm. Tomorrow I propose to be in the Chair for swearing in until 1.30 pm, on Thursday until 11.30 am, and on Tuesday until 3.30 pm. I hope that by next Tuesday afternoon we will have made sufficient progress to enable all Members to swear in who wish to do so. I hope that Members will come forward in an orderly manner.
I remind Members that the swearing in, as a proceeding of the House, is recorded by the television cameras, and that anything said or done by Members may appear on television or be picked up by microphones. It will assist the broadcasters if new Members state their name and constituency when they come to the Dispatch Box. Progress will depend, of course, on the number of Members wishing to swear in at any particular time. I advise Members to watch the Annunciators to establish progress, and to speak to their Whips.
The following Members took and subscribed the Oath, or made and subscribed the Affirmation required by law:
Right honourable Sir Gerald Bernard Kaufman, for Manchester, Gorton
Right honourable David William Donald Cameron, Witney
Right honourable George Gideon Oliver Osborne, Tatton
Right honourable Theresa Mary May, Maidenhead
Right honourable George Iain Duncan Smith, Chingford and Woodford Green
Right honourable Christopher Stephen Grayling, Epsom and Ewell
Right honourable Patrick Allen McLoughlin, Derbyshire Dales
Right honourable Jeremy Richard Streynsham Hunt, South West Surrey
Right honourable Nicola Ann Morgan, Loughborough
Right honourable Elizabeth Mary Truss, South West Norfolk
Right honourable Priti Sushil Patel, Witham
Right honourable Gregory William Hands, Chelsea and Fulham
Right honourable Michael Andrew Gove, Surrey Heath
Right honourable Stephen Crabb, Preseli Pembrokeshire
Right honourable David Gordon Mundell, Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale
Right honourable Matthew John David Hancock, West Suffolk
Right honourable Robert Henry Halfon, Harlow
Right honourable Gregory David Clark, Tunbridge Wells
Right honourable Oliver Letwin, West Dorset
Right honourable Anna Mary Soubry, Broxtowe
Right honourable Jeremy Paul Wright, Kenilworth and Southam
Right honourable Mark James Harper, Forest of Dean
Right honourable Harriet Harman, Camberwell and Peckham
Christopher Michael Leslie, Nottingham East
Right honourable Yvette Cooper, Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford
Angela Eagle, Wallasey
Right honourable Hilary James Benn, Leeds Central
Right honourable Rosie Winterton, Doncaster Central
Maria Eagle, Garston and Halewood
Elizabeth Louise Kendall, Leicester West
Chuka Harrison Umunna, Streatham
Tristram Julian William Hunt, Stoke-on-Trent Central
Jon Hedley Trickett, Hemsworth
Gloria De Piero, Ashfield
Owen Smith, Pontypridd
Ian Murray, Edinburgh South
Michael Vincent Dugher, Barnsley East
Lucy Maria Powell, Manchester Central
Mary Helen Creagh, Wakefield
Right honourable Caroline Louise Flint, Don Valley
Rachel Jane Reeves, Leeds West
Vernon Rodney Coaker, Gedling
Right honourable Margaret Mary Beckett, Derby South
Right honourable Cheryl Elise Kendall Gillan, Chesham and Amersham
Right honourable Sir Nicholas Soames, Mid Sussex
Right honourable Peter Bruce Lilley, Hitchin and Harpenden
Right honourable Margaret Eve Hodge, Barking
Right honourable Nicholas Hugh Brown, Newcastle upon Tyne East
Right honourable Dominic Charles Roberts Grieve, Beaconsfield
Right honourable Maria Frances Lewis Miller, Basingstoke
Right honourable Keith Anthony Vaz, Leicester East
Right honourable Sir Edward Henry Garnier, Harborough
Right honourable Caroline Spelman, Meriden
Right honourable Benjamin Peter James Bradshaw, Exeter
Right honourable Ann Clwyd, Cynon Valley
Right honourable Anne Frances Milton, Guildford
Right honourable David Anthony Evennett, Bexleyheath and Crayford
Right honourable Eric Jack Pickles, Brentwood and Ongar
Right honourable John Flasby Lawrance Whittingdale, Maldon
Right honourable George Edward Howarth, Knowsley
Right honourable Lindsay Harvey Hoyle, Chorley
Right honourable Nigel Alexander Dodds, Belfast North
Right honourable David Lindon Lammy, Tottenham
Nicholas Edward Coleridge Boles, Grantham and Stamford
Right honourable Desmond Angus Swayne, New Forest West
Right honourable Alan Arthur Johnson, Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle
Joseph Edmund Johnson, Orpington
Roderick James Nugent Stewart, Penrith and the Border
Right honourable Hugo George William Swire, East Devon
Right honourable David Ian Jones, Clwyd West
Right honourable Sir Kevin John Barron, Rother Valley
Right honourable Andrew David Smith, Oxford East
Right honourable Alan Campbell, Tynemouth
Right honourable Alexander Morrison Carmichael, Orkney and Shetland
Right honourable Nicholas William Peter Clegg, Sheffield, and Hallam
Right honourable Ed Miliband, Doncaster North
Brandon Kenneth Lewis, Great Yarmouth
Right honourable Frank Field, Birkenhead
David Julian Winnick, Walsall North
Ronald Campbell, Blyth Valley
Kate Hoey, Vauxhall
Right honourable Alex Salmond, Gordon
Helen Mary Jones, Warrington North
Thérèse Anne Coffey, Suffolk Coastal
Alasdair McDonnell, Belfast South
John Mark Lancaster, Milton Keynes North
Right honourable Nick Herbert, Arundel and South Downs
Robert Owen Biggs Wilson, Reading East
Marcus Charles Jones, Nuneaton
Right honourable Stephen Creswell Timms, East Ham
James Peter Brokenshire, Old Bexley and Sidcup
Right honourable Alistair James Hendry Burt, North East Bedfordshire
Charles George Eustice, Camborne and Redruth
Justin Paul Tomlinson, North Swindon
Anthony Edward Timpson, Crewe and Nantwich
Right honourable John Francis Spellar, Warley
Tracey Elizabeth Anne Crouch, Chatham and Aylesford
Right honourable David George Hanson, Delyn
Caroline Julia Dinenage, Gosport
Barry Strachan Gardiner, Brent North
Right honourable Andrew Murray Burnham, Leigh
Derek Twigg, Halton
Right honourable Fiona Margaret Mactaggart, Slough
Crispin Jeremy Rupert Blunt, Reigate
Kristan Frederick Hopkins, Keighley
Nicolas John Gibb, Bognor Regis and Littlehampton
Samuel Phillip Gyimah, East Surrey
Gary Nicholas Streeter, South West Devon
Christopher John Bryant, Rhondda
Right honourable Sir Alan James Peter Duncan, Rutland and Melton
Richard Michael Bacon, South Norfolk
Right honourable Mark Christopher Field, Cities of London and Westminster
David Michael Gauke, South West Hertfordshire
Sir Edward Julian Egerton Leigh, Gainsborough
James Stephen Wharton, Stockton South
Graham Eric Stringer, Blackley and Broughton
Right honourable John Healey, Wentworth and Dearne
Margaret Ann Wishart Coffey, Stockport
Right honourable Damian Howard Green, Ashford
Sir Joseph Alan Meale, Mansfield
David Anthon Crausby, Bolton North East
Ian Richard Peregrine Liddell-Grainger, Bridgwater and West Somerset
Stephen Pelham Pound, Ealing North
Kelvin Peter Hopkins, Luton North
Kevin Denis Brennan, Cardiff West,
Iain David Wright, Hartlepool
Right honourable Michael Alan Penning, Hemel Hempstead
George William Freeman, Mid Norfolk
Right honourable Tom Brake, Carshalton and Wallington
Graham William Allen, Nottingham North
Right honourable Sir Roger James Gale, North Thanet
Right honourable Jeffrey Mark Donaldson, Lagan Valley
Right honourable Norman Peter Lamb, North Norfolk
Timothy Paul Loughton, East Worthing and Shoreham
Gordon Marsden, Blackpool South
Dame Angela Eileen Watkinson, Hornchurch and Upminster
Claire Louise Perry, Devizes
Edward Henry Butler Vaizey, Wantage
Sir Oliver Heald, North East Hertfordshire
Margot Cathleen James, Stourbridge
Benedict Michael Gummer, Ipswich
Barry John Sheerman, Huddersfield
Michael John Gapes, Ilford South
Right honourable Sir Alan Gordon Barraclough Haselhurst, Saffron Walden
Eleanor Fulton Laing, Epping Forest
Jacqueline Doyle-Price, Thurrock
David Anderson, Blaydon
Madeleine Moon, Bridgend
Jessica Elizabeth Morden, Newport East
Adrian Edward Bailey, West Bromwich West
Sarah Louise Newton, Truro and Falmouth
Sir William Cash, Stone
Albert Owen, Ynys Môn
Kevan David Jones, North Durham
Stephen Hepburn, Jarrow
James Patrick Dowd, Lewisham West and Penge
Clive Stanley Efford, Eltham
George Michael Edward Hollingbery, Meon Valley
Graham Stuart, Beverley and Holderness
Ifor Huw Irranca-Davies, Ogmore
Right honourable John Henry Hayes, South Holland and The Deepings
Richard Haines Burden, Birmingham, Northfield
Robert James Buckland, South Swindon
Sir Alexander Paul Beresford, Mole Valley
Philip Martin Dunne, Ludlow
Julian William Hendy Brazier, Canterbury
Charles Brett Anthony Elphicke, Dover
Julian Richard Smith, Skipton and Ripon
Andrew Hanson Jones, Harrogate and Knaresborough
Jonathan Simon Djanogly, Huntingdon
Damian Patrick George Hinds, East Hampshire
Laurence Anthony Robertson, Tewkesbury
Michael Fraser Weir, Angus
Ian Lavery, Wansbeck
Khalid Mahmood, Birmingham, Perry Barr
James Dolan Cunningham, Coventry South
Clive James Charles Betts, Sheffield South East
Geoffrey Robinson, Coventry North West
Right honourable John Alan Redwood, Wokingham
Sir David Anthony Andrew Amess, Southend West
Mark Richard Tami, Alyn and Deeside
Mark Steven Spencer, Sherwood
Nigel Adams, Selby and Ainsty
Geoffrey Robert Clifton-Brown, The Cotswolds
Andrew James Bridgen, North West Leicestershire
Mark Phillip Hendrick, Preston
Andrew Edmund Armstrong Selous, South West Bedfordshire
Ian Colin Lucas, Wrexham
Wayne David, Caerphilly
Right honourable Julian Murray Lewis, New Forest East
Valerie Carol Marian Vaz, Walsall South
John David Pugh, Southport
Ian Richard Kyle Paisley, North Antrim
Louise Joyce Ellman, Liverpool, Riverside
John Robert Cryer, Leyton and Wanstead
Fabian Hamilton, Leeds North East
Angus Struan Carolus Robertson, Moray
Stephen James McCabe, Birmingham, Selly Oak
Karen Patricia Buck, Westminster North
Emily Thornberry, Islington South and Finsbury
Nia Rhiannon Griffith, Llanelli
Sylvia Eileen Lady Hermon, North Down
Karen Anne Bradley, Staffordshire Moorlands
Stuart James Andrew, Pudsey
Craig Whittaker, Calder Valley
Atta-Ur-Rehman Chishti, Gillingham and Rainham
Alan Patrick Vincent Whitehead, Southampton, Test
Mark Michael Prisk, Hertford and Stortford
Dennis Edward Skinner, Bolsover
Samuel Wilson, East Antrim
Thomas David Simpson, Upper Bann
Stephen James Metcalfe, South Basildon and East Thurrock
Graham Evans, Weaver Vale
Nigel John Mills, Amber Valley
Peter Wishart, Perth and North Perthshire
John Michael Howell, Henley
Philip Wilson, Sedgefield
Stewart Hosie, Dundee East
John Mann, Bassetlaw
Anne Marie Morris, Newton Abbot
Right honourable Liam Fox, North Somerset
Christopher Heaton-Harris, Daventry
Robert Edward Jenrick, Newark
Charlotte Leslie, Bristol North West
Andrew John Turner, Isle of Wight
Gisela Gschaider Stuart, Birmingham, Edgbaston
Heather Kay Wheeler, South Derbyshire
Mark Robert Timothy Garnier, Wyre Forest
Gavin Laurence Barwell, Croydon Central
Stewart James Jackson, Peterborough
Richard Henry Ronald Benyon, Newbury
Right honourable Sajid Javid, Bromsgrove
Right honourable Andrew Guy Tyrie, Chichester
Right honourable Philip Hammond, Runnymede and Weybridge
Lisa Eva Nandy, Wigan
Patricia Mary Glass, North West Durham
James Ian Mearns, Gateshead
Grahame Mark Morris, Easington
Geraint Richard Davies, Swansea West
Meg Hillier, Hackney South and Shoreditch
Gordon Henderson, Sittingbourne and Sheppey
Guto ap Owain Bebb, Aberconwy
Andrew Theakstone Percy, Brigg and Goole
Thomas Anthony Watson, West Bromwich East
Jonathan Cruddas, Dagenham and Rainham
Eilidh Whiteford, Banff and Buchan
Christopher Mark Francis White, Warwick and Leamington
James Jacob Gilchrist Berry, Rossendale and Darwen
Alec Shelbrooke, Elmet and Rothwell
Jacob William Rees-Mogg, North East Somerset
Simon James Hoare, North Dorset
Pauline Elizabeth Latham, Mid Derbyshire
Sir James Gerald Douglas Howarth, Aldershot
Philip Thomas Hollobone, Kettering
Richard Irwin Harrington, Watford
Robert James MacGillivray Neill, Bromley and Chislehurst
Kevin Paul Hollinrake, Thirsk and Malton
Sharon Hodgson, Washington and Sunderland West
Stephen Twigg, Liverpool, West Derby
Nicholas Richard Hurd, Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner
Richard Graham, Gloucester
Andrea Leadsom, South Northamptonshire
Richard James Shannon, Strangford
Alexander Cunningham, Stockton North
Robert Charles Douglas Flello, Stoke-on-Trent South
Graham Peter Jones, Hyndburn
Thomas Francis Blenkinsop, Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland
Angela Christine Smith, Penistone and Stockbridge
James Fitzpatrick, Poplar and Limehouse
Iain Aitken Stewart, Milton Keynes South
Chi Onwurah, Newcastle upon Tyne Central
Emma Louise Lewell-Buck, South Shields
James George Morris, Halesowen and Rowley Regis
Gareth Thomas, Harrow West
Ranil Malcolm Jayawardena, North East Hampshire
Alan Mak, Havant
Thomas Georg John Tugendhat, Tonbridge and Malling
Chris Ian Brian Mynott Philp, Croydon South
Amanda Jane Solloway, Derby North
Alun Craig Williams, Cardiff North
Judith Mary Cummins, Bradford South
David Jonathan Edwards, Carmarthen East and Dinefwr
Liz Saville Roberts, Dwyfor Meirionnydd
Hywel Williams, Arfon
Kevin John Foster, Torbay
Conor Patrick McGinn, St Helens North
Alun Hugh Cairns, Vale of Glamorgan
Robert Andrew Raymond Syms, Poole
Andrew John Gwynne, Denton and Reddish
Helen Catherine Goodman, Bishop Auckland
Mary Theresa Glindon, North Tyneside
Victoria Lorne Peta Lady Borwick, Kensington
John Charles Baron, Basildon and Billericay
Stephen John Doughty, Cardiff South and Penarth
Christopher Evans, Islwyn
Right honourable Mark Gino Francois, Rayleigh and Wickford
Catherine Malloy Hollern, Blackburn
Julie Elliott, Sunderland Central
William Roffen Esterson, Sefton Central
Peter Dowd, Bootle
Thomas Christopher John Pursglove, Corby
Peter William Bone, Wellingborough
Andrew Joseph McDonald, Middlesbrough
Stephen Mark Ward Reed, Croydon North
Sheryll Murray, South East Cornwall
Oliver Newton Colvile, Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport
Rosemary Elizabeth Cooper, West Lancashire
Nicola Claire Blackwood, Oxford West and Abingdon
Margaret Ritchie, South Down
Kwasi Alfred Addo Kwarteng, Spelthorne
John Douglas Wilson Carswell, Clacton
Catherine McKinnell, Newcastle upon Tyne North
Barbara Mary Keeley, Worsley and Eccles South
Elizabeth Anne McInnes, Heywood and Middleton
Stephen James Phillips, Sleaford and North Hykeham
Neil Carmichael, Stroud
Caroline Fiona Ellen Nokes, Romsey and Southampton North
Natascha Engel, North East Derbyshire
Melvyn John Stride, Central Devon
David John Nuttall, Bury North
(9 years, 5 months ago)
Lords ChamberMy Lords, I beg to acquaint the House that a Commission has been issued under Her Majesty’s Great Seal to several Lords therein named authorising the said Lords to declare in the name and on behalf of Her Majesty Her Majesty’s approbation of the choice of the Commons of Mr John Bercow to be their Speaker.
Then, the Lords Commissioners (the Lord Privy Seal (Baroness Stowell of Beeston), the Lord Speaker (Baroness D’Souza), Baroness Royall of Blaisdon, Lord Laming and Lord Wallace of Tankerness) being robed and seated in front of the Throne, the Lord Privy Seal directed Black Rod as follows:
Let the Commons know that the Lords Commissioners desire their immediate attendance in this House.
Then, the Commons being at the Bar, Mr Speaker-Elect (Mr John Bercow), addressing the Royal Commissioners, said:
My Lords, I have to acquaint your Lordships that, in obedience to the Royal Command, Her Majesty’s faithful Commons have, in the exercise of their undoubted rights and privileges, proceeded to the election of a Speaker, and that their choice has fallen upon myself. I therefore present myself to your Lordships’ Bar and submit myself with all humility to Her Majesty’s gracious Approbation.
Mr John Bercow, we are commanded to assure you that Her Majesty is so fully sensible of your zeal in the public service, and of your ample sufficiency to execute the arduous duties which her faithful Commons have selected you to discharge, that Her Majesty does most readily approve and confirm you as their Speaker.
The Speaker of the House of Commons said: My Lords, I submit myself with all humility and gratitude to Her Majesty’s gracious Commands. It is now my duty, in the name of and on behalf of the Commons of the United Kingdom, to lay claim, by humble petition to Her Majesty, to all their ancient and undoubted rights and privileges, especially to freedom of speech in debate, to freedom from arrest, and to free access to Her Majesty whenever occasion shall arise, and that the most favourable construction shall be put upon all their proceedings. With regard to myself, I pray that, if in the discharge of my duties I shall inadvertently fall into any error, it may be imputed to myself alone, and not to Her Majesty’s most faithful Commons.
Mr Speaker, we have it further in Command to inform you that Her Majesty does most readily confirm all the rights and privileges which have ever been granted to or conferred upon the Commons by Her Majesty or any of her Royal predecessors. With respect to yourself, Sir, though Her Majesty is sensible that you stand in no need of such assurance, Her Majesty will ever place the most favourable construction upon your words and actions.
My Lords, I regret to inform the House of the deaths of the noble Lord, Lord Sheppard of Didgemere, on 25 March, the noble Lord, Lord Mason of Barnsley, on 19 April, the noble and learned Lord, Lord Mustill, on 24 April, and the noble Baroness, Lady Rendell of Babergh, on 2 May. On behalf of the House, I extend our deepest condolences to the noble Lords’ families and friends.
My Lords, I should also like to notify the House of the retirements with effect from 27 March of the noble and learned Lord, Lord Lloyd of Berwick, and the noble Lord, Lord Nickson; with effect from 30 March of the noble Lord, Lord Joffe; with effect from 31 March of the noble Lords, Lord Shaw of Northstead and Lord Tombs; with effect from 3 April of the noble Lord, Lord Ashcroft; with effect from 20 April of the noble Lord, Lord Evans of Parkside; with effect from 30 April of the noble and right reverend Lord, Lord Hope of Thornes, and the noble Lord, Lord Sharman; with effect from 1 May of the noble Viscount, Lord Tenby; with effect from 7 May of the noble Lord, Lord Phillips of Sudbury; with effect from 8 May of the noble Lord, Lord Sandberg; with effect from 15 May of the noble Lord, Lord Goodhart; with effect from 18 May of the noble Lord, Lord Sheldon; and with effect from 19 May of the noble and learned Lord, Lord Howe of Aberavon, pursuant to Section 1 of the House of Lords Reform Act 2014. On behalf of the House, I should like to thank all the noble Lords for their much-valued service to the House.