Chairman of Ways and Means

In the United Kingdom, the Chairman of Ways and Means is a senior member of the House of Commons who acts as one of the Speaker's three deputies. The incumbent is Dame Eleanor Laing, MP for Epping Forest, who was first elected to the office on 8 January 2020.[1]

This article is about the position in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. For the position in the United States House of Representatives, see United States House Committee on Ways and Means.


Chairman
of Ways and Means
and
Deputy Speaker
of the House of Commons
Logo used to represent the House of Commons
Incumbent
Dame Eleanor Laing
since 8 January 2020
Style
  • Madam/Mr. Deputy Speaker (whilst presiding)
AppointerElected by the House of Commons
Inaugural holderSir Alexander Grant
Formation1826
Deputy

History and functions

The Chairman of Ways and Means is the principal Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons, presiding over the House in the Speaker's absence.[2] The chairman also takes the chair of the Committee of the Whole House. The chairman's title is derived from their role in the former Committee of Ways and Means, which was abolished in 1967.

The chairman's connection with the financial responsibilities of this committee gave rise to the tradition that the chairman presides over the annual budget debate, although there is no reason why the Speaker cannot do so if he or she chooses. The chairman is always a senior Member of the House, often with experience of chairing standing committees, and sometimes also of being a government minister.

Since 1902 the House has also appointed a first deputy chairman of ways and means, and since 1971 a second deputy chairman of ways and means. The deputy chairmen also deputise for the Speaker in the chair or by chairing committees of the Whole House, although the chairman has certain additional and distinct responsibilities (for instance, in relation to private bills and overseeing the Panel of Committee Chairs).

The chairman is also chair of the Court of Referees, established in 1865.[3]

Once appointed, both the Chairman of Ways and Means and the deputy chairmen follow the same tradition of neither speaking nor voting on any matter before the House (unless a casting vote is required). Unlike the Speaker, though, they remain members of their political party and campaign in general elections as party politicians. The chairman and second deputy chairman are elected from the opposite side of the House to the (former) party of the Speaker, while the first deputy chairman comes from the same side. Because the four do not vote (except to break a tie), this effectively pairs the occupants of the chair (their presumed support for their side cancelling each other out), which means no party loses a voting advantage on account of having one of the four drawn from its ranks.

The traditional dress for male deputy speakers when presiding is morning dress (a black frock-coat, or a morning coat, with black waistcoat and grey and black striped trousers).[4]

List of Chairmen of Ways and Means since 1826

Bold type and light grey colour indicates a chairman who was later elected as the Speaker of the House of Commons.

Light blue colour indicates is a deputy chairman gets promotion.

Light green colour indicates where a deputy chairman reached.

From Until Name Party Constituency Retirement honour
1826 1831 Sir Alexander Grant, Bt Conservative Aldborough, Westbury None
1831 1841 Ralph Bernal Whig Rochester None
1841 1847 Thomas Greene Conservative Lancaster None
1847 1852 Ralph Bernal Whig Rochester None
1852 1853 John Wilson-Patten Conservative North Lancashire Baron Winmarleigh (1874)
1853 1855 Hon. Edward Pleydell-Bouverie Whig Kilmarnock Burghs None
1855 1859 Henry FitzRoy Conservative Lewes None
1859 1864 William Nathaniel Massey Liberal Salford None
1865 1872 John George Dodson Liberal East Sussex Baron Monk Bretton (1884)
1872 1874 John Bonham Carter Liberal Winchester None
1874 1880 Henry Cecil Raikes Conservative Chester None
1880 1883 Lyon Playfair Liberal Edinburgh and St Andrews Universities Baron Playfair (1892)
1883 1885 Sir Arthur Otway, Bt Liberal Rochester None
1886 1893 Leonard Courtney Liberal Bodmin Baron Courtney of Penwith (1906)
1893 1895 John William Mellor Liberal Sowerby None
1895 1905 James Lowther Conservative Penrith Viscount Ullswater (1921)
1905 1906 Sir John Lawson, Bt Conservative Thirsk and Malton Baronetcy (1905)
1906 1911 Alfred Emmott Liberal Oldham Baron Emmott (1911)
1911 1921 John Henry Whitley Liberal Halifax None
1921 1924 James Hope Conservative Sheffield Central Baron Rankeillour (1932)
Feb 1924 Oct 1924 Robert Young Labour Newton Knighthood (1931)
1924 1929 James Hope Conservative Sheffield Central Baron Rankeillour (1932)
1929 1931 Robert Young Labour Newton Knighthood (1931)
1931 1943 Dennis Herbert Conservative Watford Baron Hemingford (1943)
Jan 1943 Mar 1943 Douglas Clifton Brown Conservative Hexham Viscount Ruffside (1951)
1943 1951 James Milner Labour Leeds South East Baron Milner of Leeds (1951)
1951 1959 Sir Charles MacAndrew Unionist Bute and Northern Ayrshire Baron MacAndrew (1959)
1959 1962 Gordon Touche Conservative Dorking Baronetcy (1962)
1962 1964 Sir William Anstruther-Gray Unionist Berwick and East Lothian Baron Kilmany (1966) for Life
1964 1965 Horace King Labour Southampton Itchen Baron Maybray-King (1971) for Life
1965 1966 Sir Samuel Storey, Bt Conservative Stretford Baron Buckton (1966) for Life
1966 1968 Sir Eric Fletcher Labour Islington East Baron Fletcher (1970) for Life
1968 1970 Sydney Irving Labour Dartford Baron Irving of Dartford (1979) for Life
1970 1974 Sir Robert Grant-Ferris Conservative Nantwich Baron Harvington (1974) for Life
1974 1976 George Thomas Labour Cardiff West Viscount Tonypandy (1983)
1976 1979 Oscar Murton Conservative Poole Baron Murton of Lindisfarne (1979) for Life
1979 1983 Bernard Weatherill Conservative Croydon North East Baron Weatherill (1992) for Life
1983 1992 Harold Walker Labour Doncaster Central Baron Walker of Doncaster (1997) for Life
1992 1997 Michael Morris Conservative Northampton South Baron Naseby (1997) for Life
1997 2010 Sir Alan Haselhurst Conservative Saffron Walden Baron Haselhurst (2018) for Life
2010 2019 Sir Lindsay Hoyle Labour Chorley Still a Member of the House (Speaker)
2020 Incumbent Dame Eleanor Laing Conservative Epping Forest Incumbent

List of First Deputy Chairmen of Ways and Means (Deputy Chairman of Ways and Means 1902-1971)
From Until Name Party Constituency Retirement honour
1902 1905 Arthur Frederick Jeffreys Conservative Basingstoke None
1905 1906 Laurence Hardy Conservative Ashford None
1906 1910 James Caldwell Liberal Mid Lanarkshire None
1910 1911 John Henry Whitley Liberal Halifax None
1911 1918 Sir Donald Maclean Liberal Peebles and Selkirk Knighthood (1917)
1919 1923 Sir Edwin Cornwall, Bt Liberal Bethnal Green North-East Baronetcy (1918)
Feb 1924 Oct 1924 Cyril Entwistle Liberal Kingston upon Hull South West None
Dec 1924 1928 Edward FitzRoy Conservative Daventry None
1928 1929 Dennis Herbert Conservative Watford Baron Hemingford (1943)
1929 1931 Herbert Dunnico Labour Consett Knighthood (1938)
1931 1938 Robert Bourne Conservative Oxford None
1938 1943 Douglas Clifton Brown Conservative Hexham Viscount Ruffside (1951)
Jan 1943 Mar 1943 James Milner Labour Leeds South East Baron Milner of Leeds (1951)
1943 1945 Charles Williams Conservative Torquay None
1945 1948 Hubert Beaumont Labour Batley and Morley None
1948 1950 Frank Bowles Labour Nuneaton Baron Bowles (1964) for Life
1950 1951 Sir Charles MacAndrew Unionist Bute and Northern Ayrshire Baron MacAndrew (1959)
1951 1956 Rhys Hopkin Morris Liberal Carmarthen Knighthood (1956)
1956 1959 Gordon Touche Conservative Dorking Baronetcy (1962)
1959 1962 Sir William Anstruther-Gray Unionist Berwick and East Lothian Baron Kilmany (1966) for Life
1962 1964 Sir Robert Grimston, Bt Conservative Westbury Baron Grimston of Westbury (1964)
1964 1965 Sir Samuel Storey, Bt Conservative Stretford Baron Buckton (1966) for Life
1965 1966 Roderic Bowen Liberal Ceredigion None
1966 1968 Sydney Irving Labour Dartford Baron Irving of Dartford (1979) for Life
1968 1970 Harry Gourlay Labour Kirkcaldy None
1970 1973 Betty Harvie Anderson Conservative East Renfrewshire Baroness Skrimshire of Quarter (1979) for Life
1973 1974 Lance Mallalieu Labour Brigg Knighthood (1979)[5]
1974 1976 Oscar Murton Conservative Poole Baron Murton of Lindisfarne (1979) for Life
1976 1979 Sir Myer Galpern Labour Glasgow Shettleston Baron Galpern (1979) for Life
1979 1982 Sir Bryant Godman Irvine Conservative Rye Knighthood (1986)[6]
1982 1987 Ernest Armstrong Labour North West Durham None
1987 1992 Sir Paul Dean Conservative Woodspring Baron Dean of Harptree (1993) for Life
1992 1997 Geoffrey Lofthouse Labour Pontefract and Castleford Baron Lofthouse of Pontefract (1997) for Life
1997 2000 Michael Martin Labour Glasgow Springburn Baron Martin of Springburn (2009) for Life
2000 2010 Sylvia Heal Labour Halesowen and Rowley Regis Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (2022)[7])
2010 2013 Nigel Evans Conservative Ribble Valley Still a Member of the House (Second Deputy Chairman)
2013 2019 Dame Eleanor Laing Conservative Epping Forest Still a Member of the House (Chairman)
2020 Incumbent Dame Rosie Winterton Labour Doncaster Central Incumbent

List of Second Deputy Chairmen of Ways and Means since 1971
From Until Name Party Constituency Retirement honour
1971 1973 Lance Mallalieu Labour Brigg None
1973 1974 Oscar Murton Conservative Poole Baron Murton of Lindisfarne (1979) for Life
1974 1976 Sir Myer Galpern Labour Glasgow Shettleston Baron Galpern (1979) for Life
1976 1979 Sir Bryant Godman Irvine Conservative Rye None
1979 1981 Dick Crawshaw Labour Liverpool Toxteth Baron Crawshaw of Aintree (1985) for Life
1981 1982 Ernest Armstrong Labour North West Durham None
1982 1987 Sir Paul Dean Conservative Woodspring Baron Dean of Harptree (1993) for Life
1987 1992 Betty Boothroyd Labour West Bromwich West Baroness Boothroyd (2001) for Life
1992 1997 Dame Janet Fookes Conservative Plymouth Drake Baroness Fookes (1997) for Life
1997 2010 Sir Michael Lord Conservative Central Suffolk and North Ipswich Baron Framlingham (2011) for Life
2010 2015 Dame Dawn Primarolo Labour Bristol South Baroness Primarolo (2015) for Life
2015 2017 Natascha Engel Labour North East Derbyshire None
2017 2019 Dame Rosie Winterton Labour Doncaster Central Still a Member of the House (First Deputy Chairman)
2020 Incumbent Nigel Evans Conservative Ribble Valley Incumbent

See also

References

Citations
  1. "Deputy Speakers elected". UK Parliament. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
  2. "Chairman of Ways and Means - Glossary page". UK Parliament. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  3. "The Court of Referees". Erskine May. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
  4. "Commons Deputy Speakers". UK Parliament. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  5. "No. 47868". The London Gazette (Supplement). 14 June 1979. p. 7600.
  6. UK list: "No. 50361". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 1985. pp. 1–28.
  7. "No. 63571". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 January 2022. p. N8.
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