The list of Speaker candidates was whittled down to five after the first vote - rounds will continue until one candidate obtains more than half of the votes.

House of Commons
Parliament

Voting in the second ballot is now open - Ken Clarke reiterates that MPs will have 20 minutes to vote, with around 45 minutes required to count the ballot papers.

It means we're likely to get a result around from the second ballot around 5.50pm.

House of Commons
Parliament

Ken Clarke says voting in the second ballot will get under way when the ballot papers naming the five remaining candidates have been re-printed and checked.

He says this is likely to take around 20 minutes - a remark which prompts some audible groans in the chamber, and a demand to re-use the same papers from the first ballot.

Mr Clarke says the "delay was inevitable" because MPs have the chance to drop out after the first round. He says MPs will have 20 minutes to vote in the second ballot.

House of Commons
Parliament

Former Conservative MP Ken Clarke, who’s in charge of the election process, says no one has decided to withdraw from the contest.

It means five candidates will now go through to a second ballot.

After the result of the first ballot in the election of John Bercow's successor as Speaker, the other candidates have 10 minutes to decide if they want withdraw from the next round.

House of Commons
Parliament

Former Conservative MP Ken Clarke announces the result of the first ballot in the election of John Bercow's successor as Speaker.

No one has secured more than half the votes - so there will have to be a second ballot.

Labour's Meg Hillier and Tory MP Sir Edward Leigh have been eliminated from the contest.

Dame Rosie Winterton (Lab) – 46

Chris Bryant (Lab) – 98

Sir Edward Leigh (Con) – 12

Dame Eleanor Laing (Con) – 113

Meg Hillier (Lab) – 10

Sir Lindsay Hoyle (Lab) – 211

Ms Harriet Harman (Lab) – 72

Image source, Reuters

Lib Dem leader Jo Swinson says she wants to be included in live TV election debates.

She says it's important that "for the girls and young women across our country they see that women can be political leaders and prime ministers too".

She told reporters: "It is so important in 2019 that our Parliament and our politics properly represents the country that we are here to serve."

She added that the debates "should not exclude the only woman leader who is able to be the next prime minister".

Image source, UK Parliament

Sir Henry Bellingham, the Conservative MP for North West Norfolk, has announced he is standing down.

In a letter to party members Sir Henry, who is 64, says that he had "agonised" over the decision but always wanted to depart gracefully before people started saying "poor Henry he is not quite as active or dynamic as he used to be".

But he also says that the reputation of the present Parliament - which he calls "one of the most discredited and disliked in history" - means that he thinks "very few sitting MPs will be able to shake off this plague on all your camps".

Sir Henry was first elected MP for North West Norfolk in 1983. He lost his seat in 1997 but regained it in 2001.

MPs are voting to elect a new Speaker for the House of Commons.

The Speaker effectively takes charge of what goes on within the House of Commons - selecting amendments and urgent questions, while also upholding the rules.

There are seven candidates vying for the role - but how is the winner chosen?

• Candidates each gave a speech in the Commons earlier, outlining why they think MPs should vote for them
• A secret ballot among MPs is now taking place. MPs can only vote for one candidate
• Any candidate who receives more than 50% of the votes will be proposed to the House as Speaker. MPs will be asked to vote again if no candidate meets the threshold
• In a second round of voting, candidates who either came last or received fewer than 5% of the votes will be dropped from the ballot paper
• Ballots will continue until either one MP wins more than 50% of the votes or only one remains
• A motion is then put to the Commons proposing the winner as Speaker and they will take the chair if this is agreed. If not, another vote takes place

The process is being presided over by the longest serving member of the House, Ken Clarke.

Image source, UK Parliament/Stephen Pike

The Liberal Democrats are taking legal advice on their exclusion from a ITV leaders debate featuring Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn.

"The debates cannot be leave versus leave," Lib Dem leader Jo Swinson said in a press conference outside the Houses of Parliament this afternoon.

Ms Swinson also said that it was "sexist" to have a debate with only men.

The Liberal Democrats have already made a formal complaint to ITV.

The last time MPs elected a Speaker was in June 2009, when of course John Bercow was the eventual victor - and he stayed in the role for more than a decade.

Back then, MPs had 30 minutes to vote in the first ballot, with the result announced around an hour afterwards.

That first ballot proved inconclusive - and it wasn't until the third ballot, announced around 8.30pm, that Mr Bercow eventually prevailed over Tory MP George Young, now a peer.

Image source, John Woodcock

Earlier, we brought the news that Labour-turned-independent MP John Woodcock said he will not stand at next month's general election - as he is expecting a baby with his journalist partner Isabel Hardman.

Here is a little of the detail from the letter to his Barrow and Furness constituents.

He said: "I am suddenly changing my life plans because my partner and I have been blessed with an unexpected but wonderful piece of news - Isabel is expecting a baby.

"We are both delighted, but the impending arrival means my life has to change."

He said he did not feel able to continue as an MP, spend time with two children from a previous marriage in Scotland and devote time to his new family.

"Something has to give", he added. Read more here

House of Commons
Parliament

MPs will now have 20 minutes to vote in a secret ballot.

If no candidate receives more half of the votes, the individual who receives the least votes will drop out, as will anyone who obtains less than 5% of the total cast.

After each round, there will be a 10-minute period for candidates to withdraw.

MPs will then continue to vote until one candidate obtains more than half of the votes.

Former Speaker Betty Boothroyd, who held the position between 1992 and 2000, has been spotted watching the latest candidates pitch for votes.

Labour MP Stella Creasy tweeted that "there couldn’t be a more iconic parliamentarian watching over us today... #teambetty."