Select committee chair elections: New generation of Tories make inroads

If an MP has been overlooked for a government role, a coveted select committee chairmanship can provide an important platform in Parliament. As a result, lots of Tories have been jostling and manoeuvring in the past week to be in a with a short of just this. Now, the results are in:

Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (Labour) – Rachel Reeves
Communities and Local Government (Labour) – Clive Betts
Defence (Conservative) – Dr Julian Lewis
Education (Conservative) – Robert Halfon
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Conservative) – Neil Parish
Foreign Affairs (Conservative) – Tom Tugendhat
Northern Ireland Affairs (Conservative) – Dr Andrew Murrison
Science and Technology (Liberal Democrat) – Norman Lamb
Transport (Labour) – Lilian Greenwood
Treasury (Conservative) – Nicky Morgan
And, elected under a different standing order: Backbench Business Committee (Opposition party) – Ian Mearns