Senior MPs are quietly gathering support in a race to replace John Bercow as Speaker of the House of Commons if he stands down as expected this summer.
Former Labour ministers Chris Bryant, Harriet Harman, Meg Hillier and Rosie Winterton are being urged by their peers to prepare for the powerful role.
Other candidates include the deputy speakers Sir Lindsay Hoyle and Eleanor Laing. Some Brexiters want the Conservative Sir Henry Bellingham to put himself forward.
Bercow, who has taken a central role in the Brexit crisis, had pledged to stand down in 2018 after nine years in the chair, but delayed his departure after the 2017 election.
Although friends have signalled he could go this summer, there has been no confirmation from the Speaker himself.
Bryant, a former shadow leader of the house and a self-confessed parliamentary nerd, said he would stand as a supporter for the rights of backbenchers.
“When John goes, I will be a candidate. I think people who know me will know I will be ruthlessly impartial and I hope I could diffuse any tensions with very, very gentle humour,” the MP for Rhondda said. He pointed out to Bercow last month that Theresa May’s Brexit deal should not be brought before the house without substantial changes.
Friends of Harman, a former solicitor general, said she was almost certain to put herself forward whenever Bercow chose to quit. “Parliament needs someone of national standing at this very difficult time,” one said.
A reformer of the house, Harman set up the backbench business committee and introduced parliamentary changes known as the Wright reforms in 2009 and proxy voting for women and men on “baby leave”, friends said.
Hillier, the chair of the influential public accounts committee and well known “fixer” of parliamentary problems, and Winterton, a popular former chief whip, are also being urged to stand.
Traditionally, the two main parties have alternated the role of Speaker, but this tradition was broken by Labour in 2000 when Betty Boothroyd was replaced by Michael Martin.
Some Conservative candidates are beginning to emerge. Laing, who has been a deputy for five years, announced in February that she would stand.
“I expect that there will be a great many candidates to replace him and I would expect the deputy speakers to be amongst those candidates,” the Conservative MP told The House magazine.
Bercow has been under pressure to stand down after being criticised in Dame Laura Cox’s report into bullying and harassment of staff last year.
During nine years in the Speaker’s chair he has clashed with prime ministers, survived attempts to oust him and spoken out against the US president, Donald Trump.
Bercow has also angered many in the government. He was accused of scuppering May’s Brexit deal last month after he stopped her from bringing back exactly the same bill unless the government asked a different question.
He has been praised for making it easier for MPs to grill ministers, increasing the power of backbenchers to hold the government to account, and has relaxed the dress code in the Commons.
A race for a new Speaker could be one of many elections this summer. The Conservative party could launch a leadership election, while ministers are openly contemplating a general election.
A candidate for Speaker must be nominated by 12 MPs and any election would be presided over by the father of the house, Ken Clarke.
Secret ballots are used in a contested election. If no candidate wins a majority, the candidate with the fewest votes is knocked out.
Friends of Bercow have pointed out that in the present crisis he may wish to carry on until a general election, despite any past signals that he would stand down.
A spokesperson for Bercow said: “The Speaker was elected by the house in 2017 for the course of the parliament. In the event he has anything to say on his future plans, he will make an announcement to the house first.”
