Page "Margaret Beckett" Paragraph 35

On 10 June 2009, Beckett announced that she wished to replace Michael Martin as Speaker of the House of Commons.

Mrs Beckett said: " I think at the moment we have got very considerable problems in Parliament.

We have got to make changes .... After the next election, if we have a more finely balanced chamber than we have had in the recent past, it will be a very different ball game ....

I hope I can help us deal with that.

" Beckett received 70 votes in the first round and 74 votes in the second rounds of the 2009 Speaker election.

She withdrew following the second round of voting.