NORTH COTSWOLD'S MP Geoffrey Clifton Brown has been elected as a committee chairman after being its longest-serving chair.

Sir Geoffrey was elected as chairman of the Public Accounts Committee after being deputy chair for the past seven years. 

491 MP's voted for Sir Geoffrey and 241 voted against. 

Upon being elected, Sir Geoffrey said: "This is a massively important committee which for the first few months will scrutinise decisions made by the last government, but increasingly as time goes on the spending decisions of this government will come under the committee’s intensive gaze.

"I am honoured to have been elected by so many of my colleagues.

"It’s a massive task but I have been on the committee for the last seven years as the longest-serving deputy chair, so I understand how the committee works in enormous detail.

"I would like to pay a sincere tribute to the hugely effective work of the previous Chair Dame Meg Hillier MP."

The Public Accounts Committee is one of the most influential in the House of Commons. It scrutinises the value for money of any taxpayer funds that the government spends.