Election of a new lord speaker: 2026

Approximate read time: 10 minutes

1. Why has Lord McFall of Alcluith resigned as lord speaker?

The current Lord Speaker, Lord McFall of Alcluith, will step down from the role on 1 February 2026, before the end of his five-year term.^[1] He was elected in 2021 and an election would have been due in July 2026. On 16 October 2025, Lord McFall told the House he intended to spend the majority of his time at home supporting his wife, who is living with Parkinson’s. He said:

Some years ago, my wife Joan was diagnosed with Parkinson’s. Since that time, I have combined my parliamentary work with my responsibilities at home. During this period, and indeed throughout my career, the support of my wife has been essential to my service in Parliament. It was Joan who encouraged me to return to education and to become a teacher after I left school with no formal qualifications. She selflessly supported me in my work as MP for our hometown of Dumbarton as well as in this House, so I have now taken the decision that I must in future spend the majority of my time at home supporting my wife.^[2]

2. What does the lord speaker do?

In summary, the lord speaker:

• chairs business in the House of Lords Chamber, calling for decisions and announcing the next item of business, but is not responsible for order in the
  Chamber
• decides which urgent questions (known as ‘private notice questions’) members can ask the government
• has roles in certain ceremonies and parliamentary committees, as well as representing the House outside Parliament
• can enforce the ‘sub judice’ rule of the House not discussing matters which are currently in court
• can recall the House, in agreement with the government, when it was not scheduled to be sitting

Following reforms to the role of lord chancellor, the House decided on 12 July 2005 to “elect its own presiding officer”, creating the current role of lord speaker.^[3] The primary function of the lord speaker is to chair daily business in the House of Lords Chamber, along with the deputy speakers.^[4] In addition, the lord speaker is an ambassador for the work of the House and has a role in certain ceremonies of the House. Lord McFall’s first official duties as lord speaker were at the state opening of Parliament on 11 May 2021.^[5]

The House of Lords is “self-regulating”. The ‘Companion to the standing orders and guide to proceedings in the House of Lords’ states that the role of the lord speaker is to “assist, and not to rule”.^[6] Unlike the speaker of the House of Commons, the lord speaker has no power to call members to order, to decide who speaks next, or to select amendments. The ‘Companion’ describes how the House of Lords regulates itself:

In practice this means that the preservation of order and the maintenance of the rules of debate are the responsibility of the House itself, that is, of all the members who are present, and any member may draw attention to breaches of order or failures to observe customs.^[7]

Initially the main duty of the speaker or their deputy was to “put the question on all motions which have been proposed”, prompting the House during votes, and the clerk at the table would call the next item of business.^[8] However, in 2019 the House of Lords Procedure Committee recommended that the speaker or their deputy call the next item of business, and this was adopted.^[9]

The lord speaker has the responsibility of deciding which private notice questions (PNQs) to allow.^[10] A member of the House of Lords can use a PNQ to ask an urgent and important question of the government. Members apply to the lord speaker for a PNQ. If the lord speaker accepts the request, a government minister or spokesperson must come to the House of Lords Chamber and give an answer without prior notice. The lord speaker decides whether to allow the question based on whether it is “of sufficient urgency and importance to justify an immediate reply”.^[11]

The lord speaker also has discretion to enforce the House resolution that members should not refer to any matters which are currently before UK courts. This is known as the sub judice rule.^[12]

The lord speaker can recall the House, after consulting with the government.^[13] The House of Lords was recalled twice during Lord McFall’s tenure: on 18 May 2021 to discuss the situation in Afghanistan, and on 12 March 2025 to debate the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Bill.^[14]

Outside the House of Lords Chamber, the lord speaker chairs the House of Lords Commission, which oversees the administration of the House.^[15] The speaker is a member of the House of Lords Procedure Committee and has formal responsibility for the security of the Lords part of the parliamentary estate.^[16]

The lord speaker is entitled to an annual salary of £106,363.^[17] There are also allowances and expenses available. The lord speaker occupies an office on the principal floor of the Palace of Westminster, the same floor as the Chamber, and is supported by a team of staff.

3. How do the elections for a new lord speaker work?

The rules governing the election of a new lord speaker are set out in the rules for procedure, ‘The standing orders of the House of Lords relating to public business’.

Elections must be held at least every five years. If before that a lord speaker retires or dies, an election must be held within three months of the announcement of the resignation or death. The House can also remove a lord speaker by passing a motion addressed to the Sovereign (currently King Charles III) seeking the lord speaker’s removal from office. The Sovereign approves appointments to the role.

Any member of the House of Lords can stand for election and vote, except for those who:

• have not taken the oath in the current Parliament
• are subject to statutory disqualification from sitting in the House, for example members sitting as judges in the Supreme Court
• are suspended or subject to a temporary exclusion
• are on leave of absence

Candidates must have a proposer and a seconder, to whom the same criteria apply. No one can hold the post of lord speaker for more than two terms.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the 2021 election was the first where members voted online, with a postal vote option for members with accessibility needs.^[18] The 2026 election will be conducted in the same way.^[19]

(UK Parliament, ‘Election of the lord speaker 2026’, accessed 25 November 2025)

The elections use the alternative vote system.^[21] Voters rank candidates in order of preference.^[22] Only first preference votes are counted initially. Any candidate who receives more than 50 percent of these is elected automatically.

If no candidate gets more than 50 percent of the votes on the first count, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated and the second choices on those ballots are allocated to the remaining candidates. This continues until one candidate has 50 percent or more of the vote in that round of counting, or there are no more votes to be distributed.

4. Who were the previous lord speakers?

There have been four holders of the role of lord speaker since it was established in its current form in the 2005–06 parliamentary session: Baroness Hayman, Baroness D’Souza, Lord Fowler and Lord McFall of Alcluith.^[23] Neither Baroness Hayman nor Baroness D’Souza stood for a second term. Lord Fowler was the first lord speaker to have resigned before the end of his term, and Lord McFall of Alcluith is the second.

(UK Parliament, ‘History of the lord speaker’s role’, accessed 21 November 2025)

5. Read more

• House of Lords Library, ‘Principal office holders in the House of Lords’, 19 March 2015. The briefing includes a detailed background on the introduction of the current role of the lord speaker.

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Image credit: House of Lords 2025 / Roger Harris.