I hope we will never, never have an election as we had

Lord Weatherill

The procedure for electing the speaker of the House was widely criticised both inside and outside parliament last year after MPs took seven hours to elect Michael Martin to the chair.

That criticism prompted the Commons procedure committee to carry out a review of the election system.

'Cumbersome and tedious'

Lady Boothroyd told the committee the system had to be changed.

"It was cumbersome. It was tedious. It was boring," she said.

"The present situation could cope with two or three [candidates] but we have to look to the future."

She added: "It has to be changed because there may be more than two or three candidates."

A total of 12 candidates stood for election last October after Lady Boothroyd stepped down as speaker.

Lord Weatherill, who served as speaker from 1983 to 1992, said he was "definitely for change".

Baroness Boothroyd said she supported a change

"I don't think the election of speaker brought very big credit on parliament," he said.

"I hope we will never, never have an election as we had."

Sir Edward Heath, who as Father of the House presided over last year's election, said he was unsure as to whether the system should be changed.

He added: "I don't think [last year's] situation is likely to arise again certainly in the near future."

Sir Edward had refused calls from some MPs for a ballot to decide the most popular candidate. Instead, the House considered the merits of each candidate over the course of seven hours.

Mr Martin, the first candidate to be debated, was elected with the backing of just 370 members out of a Commons total of more than 650 MPs.

Some MPs have suggested that the House should elect future speakers by secret ballot.

That proposal was supported by Lord Weatherill.

"I think a secret ballot is probably the best way of doing it," he said.

"We have a secret ballot for general elections. Why not have a secret ballot for the speaker?"

'We are all grown ups'

But Lady Boothroyd dismissed the idea. "This House doesn't have secret ballots. It is sort of hostile. It is foreign.

Lord Weatherill was speaker from 1983 to 1992

"We are all grown ups. We can all justify what we do."

However, she added: "I wouldn't be horrified if this committee recommended a secret ballot because I understand the reasons for it."

Lady Boothroyd also criticised suggestions that future candidates should be allowed to canvass MPs for votes saying she was "totally opposed".

Sir Edward said he was "absolutely opposed" to allowing candidates to draw up manifestos or take part in hustings.

Report due shortly

Nicholas Winterton, chairman of the committee and one of the unsuccessful candidates in last year's election, appeared to support keeping the existing system.

Speaking at Wednesday's hearing, he said: "One day [to elect the speaker] in eight or nine years doesn't seem to be too excessive."

He said he hoped any proposed changes would be considered by MPs shortly.

"Hopefully our report will be looked at by the House before the end of this parliament."