At least four Members of Parliament (MP) will battle it out to chair the Work and Pensions Committee (WPC), it has been confirmed.
As of 23 January, four Labour MPs had signalled their intention to stand for the role, with each securing at least 15 nominations from other MPs of their party.
The committee chair was allocated to Labour using a House of Commons procedure that also saw the wider select committee chair positions allocated proportionally based on each political party’s overall strength.
The four candidates for WPC so far are Debbie Abrahams, Chris Bryant, Karen Buck, and Stephen Timms.
Abrahams has been MP for Oldham East and Saddleworth since 2011, and previously served as shadow secretary for work and pensions from 2016 to 2018 before she was forced out of the role due to allegations of bullying. She also served briefly on the WPC in 2015.
Bryant is MP for Rhondda, having represented the constituency since 2001. Until the recent general election, he was chairman of the Finance Committee, and he was also one of the candidates for House of Commons speaker following John Bercow’s resignation. He has previously been a pension salesman, has campaigned on behalf of the Mineworkers’ scheme, and was caught up in the Equitable Life scandal.
Buck has been an MP since 1997, first representing Regent’s Park and Kensington North until the constituency was abolished in 2010, and then for Westminster North. She has served on the WPC three times, from 2001 to 2005, from July 2010 to November 2010, and from July 2015 to May 2017. She was also a shadow minister for work and pensions from 2010 to 2011.
Finally, Timms has been an MP since 1994, first for Newham North East until its abolition in 1997, and then for East Ham. He has multiple pensions roles under his belt, not least as acting shadow secretary for work and pensions from June to September 2015, but also as pensions minister from January to July 1999 and again from May 2005 to May 2006.
Further potential candidates have until 4pm on 27 January to submit their nominations and they must be backed by at least 15 Labour MPs to gain a spot on the ballot.
An election is due to take place over the coming fortnight, with MPs appointed to the remaining ten positions, again on a proportional basis.
The election comes after former chairman Frank Field lost his Birkenhead seat at the general election, having resigned from Labour and then contested the election as a Birkenhead Social Justice candidate – although an election may still have been needed if he had remained an MP.