John Bercow, Speaker of the House of Commons in the last Parliament is to face yet another challenge to his position following an attempt to unseat him during the election by UKIP's Nigel Farage.

Today MPs elected in the new Parliament are to choose a new Speaker of the House of Commons, while Mr Bercow is expected to retain his job, he is unlikely to do so without opposition.

The process of choosing a Speaker does not necessarily warrant an election by MPs. The oldest MP, Sir Peter Tapsell - The Father of the House - will ask those who approve of Mr Bercow as Speaker by shouting "Aye", while those against will be asked to shout "No".

While it is common for Speakers to be supported unanimously at the start of a new Parliament it is likely that Mr Bercow will face a challenge due to the nature of his appointment as Speaker.

Mr Bercow was elected Speaker last year following the resignation of Labour MP Michael Martin in the wake of the expenses scandal, despite his own alleged "flipping" of his second home in order to avoid capital gains tax. He was also criticised for spending over £45,000 on refurbishing his grace and favour apartment in the Palace of Westminster after becoming Speaker.

He was a Tory MP and was previously a member of the right wing Monday Club. However during the Blair years he was seen to move increasingly to the left, even working with the government to the extent that there were fears among the Tories he may defect to Labour.

This apparent change in his politics meant that during his election very few Tories supported him as Speaker and he won with the help overwhelmingly of Labour votes.

Should enough disgruntled Tories oppose the re-election of Mr Bercow, MPs will be required to vote in favour or against him by passing through the lobbies. While it is unlikely that Mr Bercow will be removed in such a way, should he lose a vote a new ballot will be opened for a new Speaker.

During the election Mr Bercow was also challenged for his Buckingham seat by former UKIP leader Nigel Farage and by John Stevens of The Buckinghamshire Campaign for Democracy.

Mr Bercow won comfortably with 22,800 votes, followed by Mr Stevens with 10,300 votes and Mr Farage with 8,400 votes. Mr Farage said that he had underestimated Mr Bercow's local popularity and said his decision to stand there was a "miscalculation".