2021 Lord Speaker election

An election for Lord Speaker, the presiding officer of the House of Lords, was held from 13 to 15 April 2021. The incumbent, Lord Fowler, announced on 25 February that he would resign from the office in late April, about four months before the end of his first term.^[1][2]

2021 Lord Speaker election

← 2016 13–15 April 2021 2026 →

First party Second party Third party   Candidate The Lord McFall of Alcluith The Lord Alderdice The Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town Party Non-affiliated Liberal Democrats Labour First-round vote 241 227 171 Percentage 37.7% 35.5% 26.8% Second-round vote 336 269 Eliminated Percentage 55.5% 44.5% Eliminated

Lord Speaker before election The Lord Fowler Elected Lord Speaker The Lord McFall of Alcluith

Election procedure and timetable

Members of the House of Lords who wished to stand for election were required to have a proposer and a seconder. The alternative vote system was used in the election and all members who had taken the oath in the current parliament by 25 March 2021 and were not on leave of absence, disqualified or suspended from the House were eligible to stand and to vote. The election was held remotely by postal and online voting.^[3]

Timetable was as follows:^[3][4]

• Friday 19 March (12 noon) – Candidate registration and postal voting registration deadline
• Tuesday 23 March – List of candidates published
• Thursday 25 March (2 p.m.) – First virtual hustings event
• Monday 29 March – Ballot papers sent to members requesting a postal vote
• Tuesday 13 April (10 a.m.) – Online voting opened
• Tuesday 13 April (10 a.m.) – Second virtual hustings event^[5]
• Thursday 15 April (5 p.m.) – Online voting closed and deadline for postal votes to be returned
• Wednesday 21 April – Results announced and Queen's approval notified
• Thursday 29 April – Old Lord Speaker presiding for the last time (prorogation)^[6][7]
• Saturday 1 May – New Lord Speaker took office
• Tuesday 11 May – New Lord Speaker presiding for the first time (state opening)^[8][9]

Candidates

The following members of the House were registered as candidates:^[10]

• The Lord Alderdice (Liberal Democrat)^[11]
• The Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour)^[12]
• The Lord McFall of Alcluith (Non-affiliated)^[13]

Result

Election of Lord Speaker, 13–15 April 2021[14]
Party		Candidate	Count 1	Count 2
	Independent	Y Lord McFall of Alcluith	241	336
	Liberal Democrats	Lord Alderdice	227	269
	Labour	Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town	171	-
Electorate: 784   Valid: 639   Quota: 320   Turnout: 639