Hilary Benn elected Chair

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

He 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.

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

On his re-election as Chair, Hilary Benn said:

"It is an honour to have been re-elected as Chair of the Exiting the European Union select committee. As the Government negotiates our withdrawal from the EU, the committee will have a very important part to play in scrutinising both the negotiations on an agreement and the legislation that the Government will be bringing before Parliament.

I look forward to working with all the members of the committee in building a consensus on what our new relationship with Europe should look like. Our work programme will be agreed in the coming weeks once other members have been elected and we have met to discuss our plans. However, I anticipate that this will include: the future of our trading relationship with the EU; the continuation of access to the single market; how we balance immigration control with the needs of UK businesses; and future co-operation on foreign, security and defence policy." 

• Hilary Benn's nomination and supporting statement

Further information

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

Image: Parliamentary copyright