Former Conservative minister Lord Michael Forsyth of
Drumlean has been appointed as the new Speaker of the House of Lords.
The top job's duties include presiding over peer
discussions, serving in ceremonial capacities at occasions like the State
Opening of Parliament, and having the last word when calling ministers to
address pressing issues.
Lord John McFall of Alcluith, who is stepping down to care
for his wife after learning that she had Parkinson's disease, will be replaced
by Lord Forsyth.
Following King Charles' assent, Lord Forsyth, who defeated
Baroness Deborah Bull for the position, will assume his place on the renowned
Woolsack in February for a five-year term.
He claimed that "as the Commons continues to struggle
to scrutinise legislation effectively, greater pressure will fall on this
House" and pledged "leadership for a more effective, respected and
influential House" in his election campaign.
Speaking following the outcome's approval, Lord Forsyth
commended Baroness Bull for running a "vigorous, courteous, and friendly
campaign" and his supporters for their confidence.
"I would also like to pay tribute to Lord McFall the outgoing Lord Speaker,"
he said.
"He has made great strides in improving the governance of the House and the accountability of the administration to Members.
I intend to build on that work as chair of the House of Lords Commission and Lord Speaker."
Lord Forsyth, who has served in politics
for almost 50 years, was initially elected to the Westminster City Council in
1978, not long after earning his degree from the University of St Andrews in
Scotland.
He was elected MP for Stirling in 1983 and held a number of
cabinet posts throughout the administrations of Margaret Thatcher and John
Major.
Before being appointed secretary of state for Scotland in
1995, he held positions in the Home Office and as an employment minister.
However, his majority was overthrown in the 1997 Labour landslide.
The village of Dunblane, where a shooter slaughtered sixteen
elementary school students and their teacher in 1996, was part of his
constituency. According to Lord Forsyth, he still has flashbacks to the school
gym where the children perished.
In 1999, he was appointed a Conservative peer in the Lords,
where he has presided over several committees, including the Financial Services
Regulation Committee.
Both retired senior judge Baroness Butler-Sloss and former
Labour Home Secretary Lord Blunkett backed his bid for Lord Speaker.
Earlier this month, peers cast a vote between former ballet
dancer Baroness Bull and Lord Forsyth.
Currently serving as deputy speaker, Baroness Bull was a
main dancer at the Royal Ballet for nearly twenty years.
Who supported and opposed his candidacy in the Lords?
No detailed public signatures or resistances from specific
peers have been extensively reported for Lord Michael Forsyth's successful training
in the 2026 House of Lords Speaker election.
As former Association of Conservative Peers president(
2021-) and Economic Affairs Committee leader( 2017- 22), Forsyth probably
secured strong Tory support among the 270 Conservative peers, using his fiscal
regulation moxie and Scotland Office term( 1995- 97). Cross-party procedural
reform lawyers may have championed his chairmanship pledges.
Crossbenchers and Liberal Egalitarians favoring Baroness
Bull's training conceivably opposed Forsyth over perceived prejudiced leanings,
given Lords reform debates favoring tagged chambers. Labour peers remained
neutralpost-McFall's bipartisan term, prioritizing election conduct over bloc
voting in the January 6- 8 ballot.