Peter Slipper was elected as Speaker on 24 November 2011 and resigned from the Liberal National Party. He stayed in parliament as an independent member. He resigned as speaker on 9 October 2012. On 11 May 2013, he joined businessman Clive Palmer's new Palmer United Party, becoming its first member in federal parliament. However, only hours later his membership of the party was cancelled and Slipper returned to being an independent.