UK Parliament — House of Commons

The election of the chair of the Backbench Business Committee shall take place at the start of each session on a day to be determined by the Speaker.

Nominations of candidates shall be in writing and shall be received by the Clerk of the House between 10.00 am and 5.00 pm on the day before the day appointed for election.

Each nomination shall consist of a signed statement made by the candidate declaring their willingness to stand for election, accompanied by the signatures of not fewer than twenty nor more than twenty-five Members, of whom no fewer than ten shall be members of the candidate's party and no fewer than ten shall be members of any other party or no party.

No Member may sign the statement of more than one candidate.

As soon as practicable following the close of nominations, a list of the candidates and their accompanying signatories shall be published.

Arrangements for the election shall follow those set out in paragraphs (9) to (14) of Standing Order No. 122B (Election of select committee chairs), save that in sub-paragraph (11)(e) the opening hours of the ballot shall be between 11.00 am and 1.00 pm and in paragraph (12) reference to variation of timings shall be read as applying also to the timings in sub-paragraph (b) and (f) of this paragraph.

The election of members of the Backbench Business Committee shall take place on a day to be determined by the Speaker as soon as practicable after the election of the chair.

Nominations of candidates shall be in writing and shall be received by the Clerk of the House between 10.00 am and 5.00 pm on the day before the day appointed for election.

Each nomination shall consist of a signed statement made by the candidate declaring their willingness to stand for election, accompanied by the signatures of not fewer than twelve nor more than fifteen Members.

As soon as practicable following the close of nominations, a list of the candidates and their accompanying signatories shall be published.

The provisions set out in paragraph (5)(a) to (d) and (f) of Standing Order No. 2A (Election of the Deputy Speakers) shall apply to the election of members of the committee.

The ballot shall be counted under the Single Transferable Vote system, with constraints that of those elected:

such a number of candidates shall come from each party represented in the House or those of no party as shall be determined and announced in advance by the Speaker, in such a way as to ensure that the committee including the Chair reflects as closely as possible the composition of the House, and

at least two women and two men shall be elected.

Standing Order No. 122C (Resignation or removal of chairs of select committees) shall apply to the chair of the Backbench Business Committee, save for paragraph (2) of that Order; and any election following a vacancy in the chair shall be held under the provisions of paragraph (1)(b) to (f) above.

Where a member of the committee has ceased to be a Member of this House or has given written notice to the Speaker of a wish to resign from the committee, the Speaker shall make arrangements for the election by the House of a replacement using the Alternative Vote System as set out in paragraph (11) of Standing Order No. 122B (Election of select committee chairs), and may give such directions on the party affiliation required for a valid candidature as are necessary to preserve the balance of parties on the committee as referred to in paragraph (2)(f)(i) above.