Nadine Dorries reminds us that the process for choosing a new Speaker of the House of Commons starts tomorrow, the first day Parliament returns to business.

She would clearly like to see the back of John Bercow, reminding us how he was chosen almost entirely by the Labour Party to “stick it to the Tories”, and states:

The Speaker will need to be authoritative, wise, knowledgeable and command the respect of the chamber. He will need gravitas and
principle. In the forthcoming days of the coalition he will also need to be totally impartial.

Unfortunately, this is not something the existing Speaker has ever managed to achieve. His short tenure in the chair has been marked by controversy.

He got off to a bad start by dropping the Speaker’s magnificent traditional dress. Nothing sums up the absence of the power and glory of
his illustrious predecessors such as Speaker Lenthall – who so famously repelled King Charles I when he charged into the Chamber and tried to arrest the Parliamentary rebels – than the sight of diminutive Mr Bercow perched on the huge ornate chair in his dull grey suit.

The Speaker’s dress is a visual reminder of the heritage and importance of the role. It provides the wearer with a sartorial shield and sword. Before you knew  anything about past Speakers, the ceremonial dress immediately conjured up the thought that this was someone to be respected. Someone to be slightly in awe of.

That respect and awe is so important when the Speaker is attempting to hold together a hot chamber filled with 650 passionate and intellectual beings who are
debating, if not verbally fighting, to establish their own political ideology over that of their opponent.

Dropping the ceremonial dress means Speaker Bercow, sitting perched on the end of the Speaker’s chair, is fighting an uphill battle. He is regarded by many MPs as someone who has not grasped the importance of upholding and carrying forward the great tradition of authority, control and impartiality.

The problem with the election of the Speaker is that many are worried that a change may look to the public as though we are inward-looking, divisive and party political, whereas if such a change took place the opposite would be true.

In the name of Parliamentary openness all MPs should be allowed to re-elect and choose a new Speaker. It should not be something which passes unchallenged on a nod and a wink.

In the last Parliament, Harriet  Harman attempted to introduce a procedure which would allow the new Speaker to be elected by a secret ballot. This
allegedly came under pressure from the Speaker’s office for this not to be the case. It should be standard practice that such votes are secret, in order that no pressure is applied to individuals who are voting.

Many MPs have also been very unhappy with the behaviour of the Speaker’s wife, who stood as a Labour candidate in the local elections. She has publicly, openly and repeatedly criticised Mr Cameron and the Conservative Party. Mr Cameron is now the Prime Minister.

Whereas I accept that she is not the Speaker, she and her family do live in the palatial grace-and-favour apartments.  It’s just not on. I have no particular preference regarding the political profile of a new Speaker. There are a number of excellent candidates.

Edward Leigh, who has served as Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee for the past nine years, or Sir Menzies Campbell. Both men immediately command the respect  of the House. Both are wise and knowledgeable, both have the integrity to remain completely impartial.

I agree both men would be excellent candidates, but I would also like to see a woman throw her hat in the ring, and would like to tentatively suggest that this could be a role for Hazel Blears. Will anyone propose her? Where are our elected women with “gravitas and principle” who are still available? Betty Boothroyd is truly a hard act to follow as our first woman Speaker.

I somehow think John Bercow will retain this position.

Update 18 May: As I thought, Speaker Bercow is re-elected with barely a whiff of dissent. Ah well Hazel, there’s always the Labour leadership contest!