John Bercow urged to scrap plans to appoint Carol Mills as clerk

MPs from across the House are continuing to oppose the Speaker's favourite for the managerial role

MPs are planning to maintain the pressure on the Speaker, John Bercow, to abandon plans to appoint a senior official from the Australian parliament to take charge of the management of the House of Commons.

Bercow is expected to make a statement to MPs on Monday afternoon to explain interim arrangements that have been put in place after Sir Robert Rogers retired at midnight as clerk and chief executive of the House of Commons.

A six-strong panel chaired by Bercow has selected Carol Mills, secretary of the department of parliamentary services in Canberra, to replace Rogers. But the appointment is on hold after the Speaker agreed to split the two roles of clerk and chief executive. Mills would be limited to the position of chief executive after MPs from across the Commons questioned her experience of the procedural side of parliament.

The Speaker is expected to tell MPs that his proposals for splitting the roles will be referred to the House of Commons commission that will meet next week. But MPs will tell the Speaker in private that Mills must face a pre-confirmation hearing unless her name is withdrawn.

They have welcomed plans to split the two roles, but say the whole selection process will need to be re-run because the job description has changed.

Contributor

Nicholas Watt

The GuardianTramp

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