Helen Jones elected Chair

Following nominations and elections among MPs, Helen Jones has been elected Chair of the committee for the 2017 Parliament.

She was the sole nomination for the position and was therefore declared elected, unopposed.

The full list of elected committee chairs for the new Parliament was announced in the House of Commons by the Speaker, the Rt Hon John Bercow. The full list of Committee Chairs is here.

Helen Jones will formally take up position as chair of the committee when the remaining members of the committee have been named by the House.

On her re-election as Chair, Helen Jones said:

"I am delighted to have been re-elected as the Chair of the Petitions Committee. Since July 2015, the petitions system has allowed millions of people to engage directly with the UK Parliament and Government.

Petitions have already led to real change—not least on funding for brain tumour research. I am looking forward to continuing the work that the Committee did in the last Parliament to make sure that a wide range of voices are heard in Parliament.

The petitions site had to close when Parliament stopped unexpectedly for the general election. I know that this has been frustrating for many people. The site will open again once the new Petitions Committee is set up, so it's essential that the Committee is established as soon as possible. This isn't something that I can control, but I'll be doing everything I can make sure that petitioners don't have to wait longer than is absolutely necessary."

• Helen Jones's nomination and supporting statement

Further information

• About Parliament: Select committees
• House of Commons Library: Appointing members to select committees

Image: Parliamentary copyright