Select committees: election of chairs and members

Richard Kelly

Documents to download

Select committees: election of chairs and members (203 KB , PDF)

Download ‘Select committees: election of chairs and members’ report (203 KB , PDF)

The House elects the chairs of a number of select committees, under Standing Order No 122B.

On the day after the election of the Speaker, the new Speaker informs the House which parties are entitled to select committee chairs that will be elected by the House and how many. The parties then propose which committees each will chair and put a motion before the House.

When this motion has been agreed, the Speaker confirms the timetable for nominating and electing chairs. Standing Orders provide that two weeks should elapse between the allocation and election of chairs but the Speaker can alter that time period.

On 30 July 2024, the allocation of chairs between the parties was confirmed and the Deputy Speaker announced that nominations would close on Monday 9 September. Elections were then held on 11 September.

Summary of timetables, 2010, 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2024


Event	2010	2015	2017	2019	2024
Election of Speaker	18 May	18 May	13 June	17 Dec	9 July
Queen’s Speech	25 May	27 May	21 June	19 Dec	17 July
Allocation of chairs	26 May*	3 June	4 July	16 Jan 2020	30 July
Nominations closed	8 June	10 June	7 July (3pm)	27 Jan (4pm)	9 Sept (4pm)
Election	9 June	17 Jun	12 July	29 Jan	11 Sept
Results announced	10 June	18 June	12 July	29 Jan^$	11 Sept~
Nomination of Members	12-26 July	6-20 July^#	11 Sept^##	2 Mar^

* The party affiliation of the Chair of the Political and Constitutional Reform Committee was decided on 7 June 2010
# Members of the Standards Committee were nominated on 9 September
## Members of the Standards Committee were nominated on 26 October
$ The Deputy Speaker announced the names of the chairs who were elected unopposed, on 27 January 2020
^ The motion to nominate members of the Scottish Affairs Committee was being debated at the moment of interruption – the debate stood adjourned. Members were nominated to the Scottish Affairs Committee on 4 May 2020
~ The Speaker announced the names of the chairs who were elected unopposed, on 9 September 2024. Because of a recount, the result of one election was not announced until 12 September 2024

Election of members of select committees

Following the election of chairs, the remaining members can be nominated. On 4 March 2010, the House endorsed “the principle that parties should elect members of select committees in a secret ballot by whichever transparent and democratic method they choose”. Following elections within parties, the successful candidates are formally proposed to the House by the Committee of Selection.