Nominations open for Chair of Northern Ireland Affairs Committee

• How select Committees elect Chairs
• Nomination form (pdf, 174KB)
• Briefing note (pdf, 155KB)

Nominations close at noon on Tuesday 28 November. If there is more than one candidate, a ballot of the whole House will take place on Wednesday 29 November between 11.00 and 14.30.

The House agreed in 2020 to allocate the Chair of the Northern Ireland Affairs to the Conservative Party. Candidates require the support of 15 fellow Conservative MPs for their nomination to be valid.

If only one MP is nominated for the role, they are elected unopposed. If two or more MPs stand, there follows a ballot where MPs vote by ranking candidates in order of preference. Votes are later counted under the Alternative Vote system. The result will be announced in the chamber later that day.

Valid nominations received on sitting days will be printed in the next day’s House business papers. They will also be published below along with the candidate’s supporting statement, signatories and any declared interests.

Nominations

Sir Robert Buckland 

MP for South Swindon

Nominated by (own party)

Sir Robert Neill, Tim Loughton, Mr David Davis, Mr William Wragg, Priti Patel, Mark Pawsey, James Morris, Sir Jeremy Wright, Mr Tobias Ellwood, Sir Brandon Lewis, Dr Thérèse Coffey, Shaun Bailey, Sir Paul Beresford, Greg Clark, Theresa Villiers

Nominated by (other parties and no party)

Liz Saville Roberts, Hywel Williams, Mrs Sharon Hodgson, Sarah Olney, Dame Margaret Hodge

Interests declared

Practising barrister in England and Wales; called to the Bar of Northern Ireland but have not conducted past or current cases there.

Further information

• Northern Ireland Affairs Committee
• About Parliament: Select committees
• Visiting Parliament: Watch committees