Atkinson, Oppong-Asare and Bailey win select committee chair ballots

Catherine Atkinson, Abena Oppong-Asare and Olivia Bailey have been elected as select committee chairs in a ballot of MPs.

Elections for chair of the Justice Committee, Women and Equalities Committee and Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee were triggered after Andy Slaughter, Sarah Owen and Florence Eshalomi were appointed as ministers in Andy Burnham’s government.

Oppong-Asare, MP for Erith and Thamesmead, was elected chair of the HCLG Select Committee with 52.6 percent in the fifth stage of the ballot. She saw off rival bids for the role from Rachel Blake, Jonathan Brash, Naushabah Khan, Alan Strickland and Catherine West.

She said: “I’m honoured to have been elected chair of the Housing, Communities and Local Government Select Committee. Thank you to colleagues across the House for your support.

“I’m determined to lead a strong, independent committee that holds the government to account and delivers for communities across the country.”

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Atkinson, MP for Derby North, was elected chair of the Justice Select Committee with 54.9 percent, beating Mary Creagh, Janet Daby and Sarah Russell.

She said: “I’m grateful to MPs from across the House of Commons for electing me to be chair of the Justice Select Committee.

“With courts, prisons, probation and access to justice all under real pressure, rigorous parliamentary scrutiny matters more than ever.

“I look forward to working constructively with colleagues, listening to those with direct experience of the justice system and ensuring our work is led by evidence.”

Bailey, MP for Reading West and Mid Berkshire, was elected chair of the Women and Equalities Committee, defeating rival Anneliese Dodds by just five votes, as well as Preet Kaur Gill.

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