Who are the eight MPS who want to be Speaker?

Chris Bryant

A former Church of England vicar, Chris Bryant, 57, held three junior ministerial posts under Gordon Brown before front bench roles as shadow culture secretary and shadow Commons leader. Labour MP for Rhondda since 2001, he was embarrassed when he posted a picture of himself wearing only underpants on Gaydar, a dating site, in 2003.

Harriet Harman

The most well known of the candidates, Harriet Harman has been an MP since 1982 and spent 30 years on the Labour front bench. Miss Harman, 69, has led the Labour party twice, as acting leader in 2010 and 2015, and has urged MPS to vote for her to be Speaker to prove that women over 60 are not “past it”.

Meg Hillier

A Labour MP since 2005, Meg Hillier chairs the influential public accounts committee, which she says has proved how good she is at crossparty cooperation. A former councillor and member of the London Assembly, Miss Hillier, 50, spent three years as a Labour minister in Gordon Brown’s government.

Sir Lindsay Hoyle

The Labour MP for Chorley since 1997 and a deputy speaker since 2010, Sir Lindsay Hoyle has pledged to call in the party leaders for a summit aimed at taking the “nastiness” out of politics. The bookmakers’ favourite, Lancastrian Sir Lindsay, 62, is respected by Tory and Labour MPS alike. He is the only candidate to refuse to say if he voted Remain or Leave in the 2016 referendum.

Dame Eleanor Laing

A Conservative MP since 1997, Dame Eleanor Laing, 61, has been a deputy speaker since 2013. She was shadow women’s and equality spokesman as well as shadow Scottish secretary in 2004-05, and has made clear she does not favour allowing female MPS to breast-feed in the chamber.

Sir Edward Leigh

A Conservative MP since 1983, who used to work in Margaret Thatcher’s private office when she was leader of the opposition, Sir Edward Leigh, 69, is a committed Brexiteer whose main claim to fame was to chair the public accounts committee from 2001 to 2010. He considered running to be Speaker in 2010.

Shailesh Vara

A Tory MP since 2005, Mr Vara, 59, is a former solicitor who held three junior ministerial posts between 2013-18 before quitting over Theresa May’s Brexit plan. A black belt in taekwondo, Mr Vara was photographed in his local paper smashing 15 roof tiles in January 1986. He says his martial arts training would give him “an inner confidence” as Speaker.

Dame Rosie Winterton

A Labour MP since 1997, Dame Rosie Winterton, 61, held four ministerial posts in the last Labour government before a spell as opposition chief whip from 2010 to 2016. She became a deputy speaker in 2017 and has said as Speaker she will “achieve a fair balance between the rights of the executive and the rights of Parliament”.