Defence Select Committee Explained

The Defence Select Committee is one of the Select Committees of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, having been established in 1979. It examines the expenditure, administration, and policy of the Ministry of Defence and its associated public bodies,^[1] including the British Armed Forces. The Committee's remit does not generally review Defence Intelligence which instead falls under the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament.^[2]

Membership

Members are as follows:^[3]

	Party	Constituency
Tan Dhesi MP (chair)		Slough
Calvin Bailey MP		Leyton and Wanstead
Alex Baker MP		Aldershot
Lincoln Jopp MP		Spelthorne
Emma Lewell-Buck MP		South Shields
Mike Martin MP	Lib Dems	Tunbridge Wells
Jesse Norman MP		Hereford and South Herefordshire
Ian Roome MP	Lib Dems	North Devon
Michelle Scrogham MP		Barrow and Furness
Fred Thomas MP		Plymouth Moor View
Derek Twigg MP		Widnes and Halewood

2019-2024 Parliament

The chair was elected on 29 January 2020, with the members of the committee being announced on 2 March 2020.^[4] ^[5]

	Party	Constituency
Tobias Ellwood (chair)		Bournemouth East
Stuart Anderson	Conservative	Wolverhampton South West
Sarah Atherton	Conservative	Wrexham
Wayne David	Labour	Caerphilly
Tan Dhesi	Labour	Slough
Martin Docherty-Hughes	Scottish National Party	West Dunbartonshire
Richard Drax	Conservative	South Dorset
Mark Francois	Conservative	Rayleigh and Wickford
Emma Lewell-Buck	Labour	South Shields
Gavin Robinson	Democratic Unionist Party	Belfast East
John Spellar	Labour	Warley

Changes 2019-2024

Date	Outgoing Member & Party		Constituency	→	New Member & Party		Constituency	Source
11 May 2020		Wayne David MP (Labour)	Caerphilly	→		Kevan Jones MP (Labour)	North Durham	Hansard
11 May 2020	Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi MP (Labour)	Slough	Derek Twigg MP (Labour)	→	Halton			Hansard
5 January 2022		Martin Docherty-Hughes MP (SNP)	West Dunbartonshire	→		Dave Doogan MP (SNP)	Angus	Hansard
25 October 2022		Stuart Anderson MP (Conservative)	Wolverhampton South West	→		Andrew Bowie MP (Conservative)	West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine	Hansard
25 October 2022	Sarah Atherton MP (Conservative)	Wrexham	Robert Courts MP (Conservative)	→	Witney			Hansard
8 November 2022		Andrew Bowie MP (Conservative)	West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine	→		Sarah Atherton MP (Conservative)	Wrexham	Hansard
12 September 2023		Dave Doogan MP (SNP)	Angus	→		Martin Docherty-Hughes MP (SNP)	West Dunbartonshire	Hansard
14 September 2023		Tobias Ellwood MP (chair, Conservative)	Bournemouth East	→	Vacant			Hansard
25 October 2023	Vacant			→		Robert Courts MP (chair, Conservative)	Witney	Hansard
25 October 2023		Robert Courts MP (Conservative)	Witney	→	Vacant			Hansard
11 December 2023	Vacant			→		Jesse Norman MP (Conservative)	Hereford and South Herefordshire	Hansard
12 December 2023		Robert Courts MP (chair, Conservative)	Witney	→	Vacant			Hansard
17 January 2024	Vacant			→		Jeremy Quin MP (chair, Conservative)	Horsham	Hansard

2017–2019 Parliament

The chair was elected on 12 July 2017, with the members of the committee being announced on 11 September 2017.^[6] ^[7]

	Party	Constituency
Julian Lewis (chair)	Conservative	New Forest East
Leo Docherty	Conservative	Aldershot
Martin Docherty-Hughes	Scottish National Party	West Dunbartonshire
Mark Francois	Conservative	Rayleigh and Wickford
Graham Jones	Labour	Hyndburn
Johnny Mercer	Conservative	Plymouth Moor View
Madeleine Moon	Labour	Bridgend
Gavin Robinson	Democratic Unionist Party	Belfast East
Ruth Smeeth	Labour	Stoke-on-Trent North
John Spellar	Labour	Warley
Phil Wilson	Labour	Sedgefield

2015–2017 Parliament

The chair was elected on 18 June 2015, with members being announced on 6 July 2015.^[8] ^[9]

	Party	Constituency
Julian Lewis (chair)	Conservative	New Forest East
Richard Benyon	Conservative	Newbury
Douglas Chapman	Scottish National Party	Dunfermline and West Fife
James Gray	Conservative	North Wiltshire
Johnny Mercer	Conservative	Plymouth Moor View
Madeleine Moon	Labour	Bridgend
Conor McGinn	Labour	St Helens North
Jim Shannon	Democratic Unionist Party	Strangford
Ruth Smeeth	Labour	Stoke-on-Trent North
John Spellar	Labour	Warley
Bob Stewart	Conservative	Beckenham

Changes 2015–2017

Date		Constituency	→		Constituency	Source
26 October 2015	Conor McGinn MP (Labour)	St Helens North	→	Phil Wilson MP (Labour)	Sedgefield	Hansard
31 October 2016	Richard Benyon MP (Conservative)	Newbury	→	Jack Lopresti MP (Conservative)	Filton and Bradley Stoke	Hansard
5 December 2016	Jim Shannon MP (DUP)	Strangford	→	Gavin Robinson MP (DUP)	Belfast East	Hansard

2010–2015 Parliament

The chair was elected on 10 June 2010, with members being announced on 12 July 2010.^[10] ^[11]

	Party	Constituency
James Arbuthnot (chair)	Conservative	North East Hampshire
Julian Brazier	Conservative	Canterbury
Jeffrey Donaldson	Democratic Unionist Party	Lagan Valley
John Glen	Conservative	Salisbury
David Hamilton	Labour	Midlothian
Mike Hancock	Liberal Democrats	Portsmouth South
Adam Holloway	Conservative	Gravesham
Madeleine Moon	Labour	Bridgend
Alison Seabeck	Labour	Plymouth Moor View
Bob Stewart	Conservative	Beckenham
Gisela Stuart	Labour	Birmingham Edgbaston
John Woodcock	Labour and Co-op	Barrow and Furness

Changes 2010–2015

Date	Outgoing Member & Party		Constituency	→	New Member & Party		Constituency	Source
2 November 2010		Adam Holloway MP (Conservative)	Gravesham	→		Penny Mordaunt MP (Conservative)	Portsmouth North	Hansard
		David Hamilton MP (Labour)	Midlothian			Thomas Docherty MP (Labour)	Dunfermline and West Fife
	Alison Seabeck MP (Labour)	Plymouth Moor View	Dai Havard MP (Labour)		Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney
	John Woodcock MP (Labour and Co-op)	Barrow and Furness	Sandra Osborne MP (Labour)		Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock
24 October 2011		Mike Hancock MP (Liberal Democrats)	Portsmouth South	→		Bob Russell MP (Liberal Democrats)	Colchester	Hansard
5 November 2012		John Glen MP (Conservative)	Salisbury	→		Adam Holloway MP (Conservative)	Gravesham	Hansard
10 June 2013		Sandra Osborne MP (Labour)	Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock	→		Derek Twigg MP (Labour)	Halton	Hansard
4 November 2013		Penny Mordaunt MP (Conservative)	Portsmouth North	→		James Gray MP (Conservative)	North Wiltshire	Hansard
25 November 2013		Thomas Docherty MP (Labour)	Dunfermline and West Fife	→		John Woodcock MP (Labour and Co-op)	Barrow and Furness	Hansard
28 April 2014		James Arbuthnot MP (chair, Conservative)	North East Hampshire	→	Vacant			Hansard
14 May 2014	Vacant			→		Rory Stewart MP (chair, Conservative)	Penrith and The Border	Hansard
3 November 2014		Julian Brazier MP (Conservative)	Canterbury	→		Richard Benyon MP (Conservative)	Newbury	Hansard
3 November 2014	Adam Holloway MP (Conservative)	Gravesham	Julian Lewis MP (Conservative)	→	New Forest East			Hansard

Chair of the Defence Select Committee

	Party	Constituency	First elected	Method
Michael Mates	Conservative	East Hampshire	1987	Elected by the Select Committee
Michael Colvin	Conservative	Romsey and Waterside	1995	Elected by the Select Committee
Bruce George	Labour	Walsall South	16 July 1997	Elected by the Select Committee
James Arbuthnot	Conservative	North East Hampshire	13 July 2005	Elected by the Select Committee (and the House of Commons in 2010)
Rory Stewart	Conservative	Penrith and The Border	14 May 2014	Elected by the House of Commons
Julian Lewis	Conservative	New Forest East	17 June 2015	Elected by the House of Commons
Tobias Ellwood	Conservative	Bournemouth East	29 January 2020	Elected by the House of Commons
	Independent
	Conservative
Robert Courts	Conservative	Witney	25 October 2023	Elected by the House of Commons
Jeremy Quin	Conservative	Horsham	17 January 2024	Elected by the House of Commons

Election results

From June 2010 chairs of select committees have been directly elected by a secret ballot of the whole House of Commons using the alternative vote system. Candidates with the fewest votes are eliminated and their votes redistributed until one remaining candidate has more than half of valid votes.^[12] Elections are held at the beginning of a parliament or in the event of a vacancy.^[13]

17 January 2024^[14]
Candidate		1st round
Candidate		Votes	%
	Jeremy Quin	371	78.6
	Rehman Chishti	101	21.4
Valid votes		472

25 October 2023^[15]
Candidate		1st round
Candidate		Votes	%
	Robert Courts	249	57.9
	Sarah Atherton	142	33.0
	Mark Francois	39	9.1
Valid votes		430

29 January 2020^[16]
Candidate		1st round		2nd round		3rd round		4th round
Candidate		Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%
	Tobias Ellwood	243	43.2	256	46.1	271	49.7	296	56.7
	Sir Bernard Jenkin	173	30.8	183	33.0	193	35.4	226	43.3
	Robert Courts	62	11.0	68	12.3	81	14.9	Eliminated
	Adam Holloway	45	8.0	48	8.6	Eliminated
	James Gray	39	6.9	Eliminated
Not redistributed				7	1.2	17	3.0	40	7.1
Valid votes		562		555		545		522

12 July 2017^[17]
Candidate		1st round
Candidate		Votes	%
	Julian Lewis	305	53.5
	Johnny Mercer	265	46.5
Not redistributed
Valid votes		570

17 June 2015^[18]
Candidate		1st round		2nd round
Candidate		Votes	%	Votes	%
	Julian Lewis	260	44.1	314	56.5
	Richard Benyon	208	35.3	242	43.5
	Bob Stewart	121	20.5	Eliminated
Not redistributed				33	5.6
Valid votes		589		556

14 May 2014^[19]
Candidate		1st round		2nd round		3rd round		4th round		5th round		6th round		7th round
Candidate		Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%
	Rory Stewart	113	23.6	115	24.1	122	25.7	139	29.3	149	31.9	179	39.3	226	51.6
	Julian Lewis	124	25.9	128	26.8	131	27.6	138	29.1	156	33.4	165	36.2	212	48.4
	Julian Brazier	68	14.2	71	14.9	71	14.9	77	16.2	90	19.3	112	24.6	Eliminated
	Keith Simpson	48	10.0	48	10.1	51	10.7	61	12.8	72	15.4	Eliminated
	Bob Stewart	52	10.9	54	11.3	56	11.8	60	12.6	Eliminated
	Crispin Blunt	44	9.2	44	9.2	44	9.3	Eliminated
	Tobias Ellwood	17	3.5	17	3.6	Eliminated
	James Gray	13	2.7	Eliminated
Not redistributed				2	0.4	4	0.8	4	0.8	12	2.5	23	4.8	41	8.6
Valid votes		479		477		475		475		467		456		438

9 June 2010^[20]
Candidate		1st round		2nd round		3rd round
Candidate		Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%
	James Arbuthnot	210	36.6	236	42.4	273	52.7
	Patrick Mercer	176	30.7	189	33.9	245	47.3
	Julian Lewis	115	20.1	132	23.7	Eliminated
	Douglas Carswell	72	12.6	Eliminated
Not redistributed				16	2.8	55	9.6
Valid votes		573		557		518

External links

Official website

Notes and References

Web site: Defence Committee . parliament.uk . 29 December 2021 . The Defence Committee is appointed by the House of Commons to examine the expenditure, administration, and policy of the Ministry of Defence and its associated public bodies. . 29 December 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211229204516/https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/24/defence-committee . dead .
Web site: Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament . gov.uk . 29 December 2021 . The ISC oversees the policies, expenditure, administration and operations of MI5, MI6, GCHQ, Defence Intelligence, the Joint Intelligence Organisation, the National Security Secretariat (NSS) and Homeland Security Group..
Web site: Defence Committee membership appointed . . 29 October 2024  . committees.parliament.uk . Defence Committee . 31 October 2024 .
Parliament of the United Kingdom . Speaker’s Statement: Select Committee Chairs . House of Commons . 6 May 2020 . 670 .
Parliament of the United Kingdom . Committees . House of Commons . 2 March 2020 . 672 .
Parliament of the United Kingdom . Speaker’s Statement: Select Committee Chairs . House of Commons . 12 July 2017 . 627 .
Parliament of the United Kingdom . Business without Debate . House of Commons . 11 September 2017 . 628 .
Parliament of the United Kingdom . Speaker’s Statement . House of Commons . 18 June 2015 . 597 .
Parliament of the United Kingdom . Committees . House of Commons . 8 July 2015 . 598 .
Parliament of the United Kingdom . Speaker’s Statement . House of Commons . 10 June 2010 . 511 .
Parliament of the United Kingdom . Committees . House of Commons . 12 July 2010 . 513 .
Web site: Standing Orders of the House of Commons. Publications.parliament.uk. 23 April 2018.
Chairs of Commons select committees since 2010. Sarah. Priddy. Researchbriefings.parliament.uk. 23 April 2018.
Web site: Defence Committee Chair Election - Result Sheet. PDF. Parliament.uk. 18 January 2024.
Web site: ELECTION FOR CHAIR OF DEFENCE SELECT COMMITTEES: RESULT. PDF. Parliament.uk. 2 December 2023.
Web site: ELECTION FOR CHAIRS OF SELECT COMMITTEES: RESULT. PDF. Parliament.uk. 7 March 2020.
Web site: ELECTION FOR CHAIRS OF SELECT COMMITTEES: RESULT. PDF. Parliament.uk. 23 April 2018.
Web site: ELECTION FOR CHAIRS OF SELECT COMMITTEES: RESULT. PDF. Parliament.uk. 23 April 2018.
Web site: ELECTION FOR CHAIRS OF SELECT COMMITTEES: RESULT. PDF. Parliament.uk. 23 April 2018.
Web site: ELECTION FOR CHAIRS OF SELECT COMMITTEES: RESULT. PDF. Parliament.uk. 23 April 2018 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20101013154827/http://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons-committees/chair-elections/Committee-Chair-Results.pdf . 13 October 2010.