Speaker of the British House of Commons

In the United Kingdom, the Speaker of the House of Commons is the presiding officer of the Lower House of Parliament, the House of Commons, and is seen historically as the First Commoner of the Land. The current Speaker is The Right Honourable Michael Martin MP, who took office in 2000 and was re-elected on 11 May 2005 following the 2005 general election.

Election

Members of Parliament (MPs) elect the Speaker from amongst their own ranks. The House must elect a Speaker at the beginning of each new parliamentary term after a General Election, or after the death or resignation the incumbent. Once elected, a Speaker continues in office until the dissolution of Parliament. Customarily, the House re-elects Speakers who desire to continue in office for more than one term. Theoretically, the House could vote against re-electing a Speaker, but such an event would be extremely unlikely.

Related Topics:
Members of Parliament - General Election

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The procedure for electing a Speaker has changed in recent years. Until 1971, the Clerk of the House of Commons became temporary Chairman of the House. As the Clerk is never a Member, he would silently stand and point at the Member who was to speak. However, this procedure broke down at the election of a new Speaker in 1971 (see below) and had to be changed. Since that time, as recommended by a Select Committee, the Father of the House (the member of the House with the longest period of unbroken service, but never a Minister of the Crown) becomes the presiding officer.

Related Topics:
1971 - Select Committee - Father of the House

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Until 2001, the election of a Speaker was conducted as a routine matter of House of Commons business. A member would move "That Mr do take the Chair of this House as Speaker", and following debate (which may have included an amendment to replace the name of the member on whom the Speakership was to be conferred), a routine Division of the House would resolve in favour of one candidate. There was, however, a considerable amount of behind-the-scenes lobbying before suitable candidates were agreed upon, and so it was very rare for a new Speaker to be opposed. However, this system broke down in 2000 when fourteen rival candidates declared for the job and the debate occupied an entire Parliamentary day. The House of Commons Procedure Committee then re-examined the means of electing a Speaker and recommended a new system.

Related Topics:
2001 - 2000

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Since 2001, candidates must be nominated by at least twelve members, of whom at least three must be of a different party than the candidate. Each member may nominate no more than one candidate. The House then votes by secret ballot; an absolute majority is required for victory. If no candidate wins a majority, then the individual with the fewest votes is eliminated, as are any candidates who receive less than five percent of the votes cast. The House continues to vote, for several rounds if necessary, until one member receives the requisite majority. Then, the House votes on a formal motion to appoint the member in question to the Speakership. (In the unlikely event that this motion fails, the House must hold a fresh series of ballots on all of the nominees.)

Related Topics:
2001 - Secret ballot - Absolute majority

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If only one candidate is nominated, then no ballot is held, and the House proceeds directly to the motion to appoint the candidate to the Speakership. A similar procedure is used if a Speaker seeks a further term after a General Election: no ballot is held, and the House immediately votes on a motion to re-elect the Speaker. If the motion to re-elect the Speaker fails, candidates are nominated, and the House proceeds with voting (as described above).

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Upon the passage of the motion, the Speaker-elect is expected to show reluctance at being chosen; he or she is customarily "dragged" by colleagues to the Chair. This custom is a relic of the era when the Speaker, as representative of the Commons, could have been required to bear bad news to the Sovereign.

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The Speaker-elect must receive the Sovereign's approval, or the "approbation," before he or she may take office. On the day of the election, the Speaker-elect leads the Commons to the Chamber of the House of Lords, where Lords Commissioners appointed by the Crown confirm him or her in the monarch's name. Thereafter, the Speaker symbolically requests "in the name and on behalf of the Commons of the United Kingdom, to lay claim, by humble petition to Her Majesty, to all their ancient and undoubted rights and privileges, especially to freedom of speech in debate, to freedom from arrest, and to free access to Her Majesty whenever occasion shall require." After the Lords Commissioners, on the behalf of the Sovereign, confirm the Commons' rights and privileges, the Commons return to their Chamber. If a Speaker is chosen in the middle of a Parliament due to a vacancy in the office, he or she must receive the royal approbation as described above, but does not again lay claim to the Commons' rights and privileges.

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New Speakers are normally senior Members of Parliament from the government party. After election, however, the Speaker ceases to be associated with his or her former party. Moreover, he or she continues to serve even if his or her former party loses power and becomes the Opposition. Michael Martin was the second consecutive ex-Labour Speaker, breaking a pattern of alternation between Labour and Conservative since the Second World War, which some claim had been established as a constitutional convention.

Related Topics:
Second World War - Constitutional convention

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