Electing the Speaker  

Today I’ve had a few calls and emails from constituents in places that are going to be part of the Buckingham seat at the next election(see previous post on boundary changes) asking if it’s true that they are going to be deprived of their right to vote this time. The short answer is “no”. Whoever is the Speaker has to stand for re-election to his or her constituency in the same way as any other sitting MP and is   described on the ballot paper as “The Speaker seeking re-election”. Of course what makes things different from other constituencies is that by  convention the main political parties do not contest the Speaker’s seat. That doesn’t mean that the Speaker is re-elected unopposed. Both Betty Boothroyd and Michael Martin were opposed by independents and minor parties and the same seems certain to happen in Buckingham. I take seriously...