An election for Lord Speaker, the presiding office of the House of Lords, was held from 6 to 8 January 2026. On 15 October 2025, the incumbent, Lord McFall of Alcluith, resigned from the office with effect from 2 February 2026.
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. All members who had taken the oath in the current parliament by 27 November 2025 and were not on leave of absence, disqualified or suspended from the House were eligible to stand. All members who had taken the oath in the current parliament by 18 December 2025 and were not on leave of absence, disqualified, suspended or temporarily excluded from the House were eligible to vote. The election was held by postal and electronic voting.
Timetable was as follows: Thursday 27 November 2025 (5 p.m.) – Candidate registration deadline Monday 1 December 2025 – List of candidates published Friday 5 December 2025 – Postal voting registration deadline Tuesday 9 December 2025 – Hustings Thursday 11 December 2025 – Ballot papers sent to members requesting a postal vote Tuesday 6 January 2026 (10 a.m.) – Electronic voting opened Thursday 8 January 2026 (5 p.m.) – Electronic voting closed and deadline for postal votes to be returned Monday 12 January 2026 – Result announced and King's approval notified Monday 2 February 2026 – New Lord Speaker took office and presided for the first time
Candidates The following members of the House were registered as candidates: Baroness Bull (Crossbencher) – proposed by Baroness Thornton and Lord Ricketts Lord Forsyth of Drumlean (Conservative) – proposed by Lord Blunkett and Baroness Butler-Sloss
Result
References