In the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, the Chairman of Ways and Means is a senior member of the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

who acts as one of the

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...

's three deputies. The incumbent is

Dame Eleanor Laing Dame Eleanor Fulton Laing, (' Pritchard; born 1 February 1958) is a British politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Epping Forest constituency since 1997. Laing is a member of the Conservative Party and has served as a ...

, MP for

Epping Forest Epping Forest is a area of ancient woodland, and other established habitats, which straddles the border between Greater London and Essex. The main body of the forest stretches from Epping in the north, to Chingford on the edge of the London ...

, who was first elected to the office on 8 January 2020.

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. The chairman also takes the chair of the

Committee of the Whole House A committee of the whole is a meeting of a legislative or deliberative assembly using procedural rules that are based on those of a committee, except that in this case the committee includes all members of the assembly. As with other (standing) c ...

. 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

cannot do so if he or she chooses. The chairman is always a senior Member of the House, often with experience of chairing

standing committee A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...

s, 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. 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

, 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

pair Pair or PAIR or Pairing may refer to: Government and politics * Pair (parliamentary convention), matching of members unable to attend, so as not to change the voting margin * ''Pair'', a member of the Prussian House of Lords * ''Pair'', the Frenc ...

s 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 Morning dress, also known as formal day dress, is the formal Western dress code for day attire, consisting chiefly of, for men, a morning coat, waistcoat, and formal trousers, and an appropriate gown for women. Men may also wear a popular va ...

(a black frock-coat, or a morning coat, with black waistcoat and grey and black striped trousers).

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.

List of First Deputy Chairmen of Ways and Means (Deputy Chairman of Ways and Means 1902-1971)

List of Second Deputy Chairmen of Ways and Means

External links

Records of the Office of the Chairman of Ways and Means are held at the Parliamentary Archives

Ways and Means in the parliamentary glossary

Chairman of Ways and Means in the BBC parliamentary dictionary

References

Citations

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chairman Of Ways And Means British House of Commons, Speakers of the Westminster system Parliament of the United Kingdom