Long-serving Labour Party lawmaker Lindsay Hoyle was elected speaker of Britain's House of Commons on Monday, taking up the job with a clear message: I'm not John Bercow.
According to Associated Press, Hoyle was chosen by lawmakers from among seven candidates to replace the influential but contentious Bercow. Bercow retired last week after a decade as speaker that saw him become a central, and contentious, player in Britain's Brexit drama.
Hoyle took 325 of the 540 votes in a runoff with Labour colleague Chris Bryant after the seven-strong field was winnowed down in three previous voting rounds.
After his election, Hoyle was dragged to the speaker's chair by colleagues with a show of reluctance — a tradition dating back to the days when speakers could be sentenced to death if they displeased the monarch.
He vowed to bring a change of tone and temperament to a political system that has been strained by Brexit.
Hoyle promised to be "neutral," ''transparent" and restore Parliament's battered reputation.
"We've got to make sure that tarnish is polished away," he added.
"This House will change, but it will change for the better."