Speaker of the House of Commons, has just announced his retirement (to step down) by 31st October.
He says if the Commons votes for an early general election, his tenure as Speaker and as an MP will end when this parliament ends.
He said, if MPs do not vote for an election, he has concluded the least disruptive option will be to stand down at close of play on Thursday 31 October.
He says the votes on the Queen’s speech will come at the start of that week. He said it would make sense to have an experienced Speaker in the chair for those votes.
And he says this would be the most democratic option because it would allow the new Speaker to be elected by MPs who know the candidates.
