Dame Eleanor Laing has been elected the new Commons Chairman of Ways and Means, the first time a woman has held the post.

The Chairman of Ways and Means is the principal Deputy Speaker in the Commons and it is custom for them to take the chair during the Budget.

Announcing the result, Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle said Dame Eleanor would be the "first woman to be elected Chairman of Ways and Means".

A Tory MP for Epping Forest since 1997, she ran unsuccessfully for the speakership in November and has been a Deputy Speaker since October 2013.

Speaking after her election, Dame Eleanor thanked the Commons clerks for running the contest and her fellow candidates.

She added: "May I say to you, Mr Speaker, that you and I have worked together for a great many years and I'm honoured and delighted to be re-elected to be part of your team.

"I know you intend to do a lot to bring this place into the 21st century and to restore faith in our democracy, and I look forward to doing all I can to helping you."

Dame Rosie Winterton, who was a Deputy Speaker in the last Parliament, was the sole candidate from the same side of the House as the Speaker, so she was elected without appearing on the ballot paper.

Nigel Evans, who was a Deputy Speaker between 2010 and 2013, received the second-highest number of votes from MPs.

All Deputy Speakers assist the Speaker in his duties in the chair and exercise this authority while doing so.

Once elected, Deputy Speakers remain in the office until the next general election, unless they resign or stop being an MP and they withdraw from active political role.

According to the Commons Library, the positions of Deputy Speaker and Chairman of Ways and Means developed separately until they were combined in the mid-19th century, with the terms now used interchangeably.