Speaker's election
The Commons won't get going until next week, when it meets to elect a Speaker and swear in MPs.
The idea behind the hiatus is to allow new MPs to find their feet, set up their offices and so forth - but in the fizzing atmosphere around Westminster, I wonder how many will get down to the boring logistics of getting started, when there's so much plotting and gossiping to enjoy.
Anyway, this is how the business will unfold when parliamentary activity resumes:
- At 2.20 on the afternoon of Tuesday 18th, with great ceremony, the Clerk of the Crown in Chancery will enter the Chamber of the Commons and present the Clerk with the White Book, the official list of those elected as MPs.
- Ten minutes later the Commons will convene, under the chairmanship of the Father of the House, the Tory veteran Sir Peter Tapsell.
- Black Rod will summon the MPs to the Lords to hear a commission read out for the holding of a new Parliament, and to be directed to elect a Speaker.
- They then return to their own Chamber, and a backbencher proposes a motion that John Bercow take the chair. MPs will shout "Aye" or "No". It's no secret that a fair number of Conservatives don't much care for Mr Bercow, and it is possible that there may be shouts of "No". Normally, if there are only a few nays, the chair will say "I think the Ayes have it," but if the shouts of "No" are repeated, he will have to call a division - assuming the "No" side can muster two tellers.
- Mr Bercow will almost certainly be elected and will have to trot back to the Lords to receive the Royal Approbation. If he loses, there will be a full election on Wednesday 19th to find his successor - by the same secret ballot process which chose Mr Bercow, last year.
Once all that is concluded, MPs knock off until the following Tuesday, when the State Opening of Parliament, unveiling the new government's Queen's Speech, will launch an unprecedented political experiment.
Hold onto your hats - it will be a rough ride.
I'm Mark D'Arcy and I'll be writing about what goes on in the chambers and committee rooms at Westminster.
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