Tony Wright (Cannock Chase MP)

Wright chaired the Public Administration Committee for a decade and then, after the 2009 expenses scandal, the Committee on Reform of the House of Commons. Its report led to the 'Wright reforms' of 2010: select committee chairs elected by the whole House by secret ballot, members elected by their parties, and a Backbench Business Committee controlling time for debates. Those changes are the reason later chairs on this list could be so independent of the whips.