The father of the House is an honorary title bestowed upon the male member of the House of Commons with the longest record of continuous service. The title holder is not elected but is determined purely by their length of unbroken service as an MP.

While the role is largely informal and carries no additional salary or official duties, the Father of the House commands significant respect and has one crucial procedural responsibility: temporarily taking the chair during the election of the speaker of the House of Commons.

Following the 2024 general election, the father of the House is Edward Leigh, the Conservative MP for Gainsborough – who was first elected in 1983. Leigh succeeded Peter Bottomley, who lost his seat in the election.

Historically, the member of the House of Commons with the longest record of continuous service has always been a man. The mother of the House is an honorary title bestowed upon the woman who is the longest-serving female member of the House of Commons.

The role and duties of the father of the House

The primary and only formal duty of the father of the House (or mother of the House in the event that the longest-serving member is a woman) is to preside over the election of a speaker. This occurs at the beginning of a new parliament after a general election, or if a speaker resigns or dies mid-term.

When MPs assemble for the first time after an election, the father of the House takes the chair and oversees the proceedings.

• If an incumbent speaker is seeking re-election, the father of the House puts the single question to the House for their re-appointment.
• In the event of a contested election for a new speaker, the father of the House presides over the speeches of the candidates and the subsequent secret ballots until a winner is chosen.

Beyond this specific function, the role is one of honour and convention. The father of the House may be called upon to make speeches or tributes on significant parliamentary or national occasions. Their parliamentary colleagues recognise that the perspective of the father of the House would be necessarily shaped by decades of experience in the chamber.

Determining the father of the House

The title is conferred upon the MP who has served continuously for the longest period. The calculation is based on the date of their first election to the House. If two or more MPs have the same length of service, the one who was sworn in first at the start of that parliament takes precedence.

For instance, in 2015, following the retirement of the then father of the House, Peter Tapsell, long-standing Labour MP Dennis Skinner emerged as one of the four longest-serving MPs – all first elected in 1970. However, he did not become father of the House, as two other MPs had been sworn in earlier on the same day following the 1970 general election, namely: Gerald Kaufman and Kenneth Clarke. The former served as father of the House from 2015 to 2017; the latter succeeded Kaufman as the father of the House from 2017 to 2019.

Moreover, an MP must have continuous service to qualify. If an MP loses their seat and is later re-elected, their service is not considered continuous, and the clock resets from the date of their re-election. This was the case for Winston Churchill, the former prime minister, who was denied the father of the House post until 1959.

Churchill was first elected to parliament in 1900, but lost his seat in the 1922 general election. He returned to the commons in 1924.

MPs Edward Turnour (elected 1904), Hugh O’Neill (elected 1915) and David Grenfell (elected 1922) all served as father of the House before Churchill due to their continuous service.

Henry Campbell-Bannerman is the only MP to hold the positions of prime minister and father of the House simultaneously. Campbell-Bannerman was first elected to parliament in 1868 (serving continuously) and held the office of prime minister from 1905 to 1908. He was father of the House from 1907 until his death in April 1908.

Additional resources

• History of Parliament – The Origins of a Father of the House: https://historyofparliament.com/2019/05/07/origins-of-father-of-the-house/