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Speaker of the House of Commons (United Kingdom)

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In the Westminster System the Speaker of the House of Commons controls the day to day running of the house. The speaker decides who may speak and has the powers to discipline members who break the procedures of the house. This position exists in nations such as the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia.

The speaker is elected from amongst the members of the commons, and is thus usually a representative of the government, but they are ment to be .

Australia

Canada

In Canada the Speaker of the House of Commons is elected by fellow MPs and performs the same duties as in other nations. Traditionally in Canada the speaker was appointed by the Prime Minister, but in 1986 this was changed and they are now selected by secret ballot. The speaker remains a stting MP, but only votes on matters in the case of a tie. In Canada it is also the speaker's responsibility to manage the House of Commons and supervise its staff. It is also the Speaker's duty to act as a liason with the Senate and the Crown. The Speaker of the House of Commons has an official residence just outside Gatineau, Quebec, just across the river from Ottawa. The current speaker is Ontario Liberal MP Peter Milliken.

All of Canada's province's also have a Speaker of the House of Commons with much the smae roles.

List of Federal Speakers

Jeanne Sauve April 14, 1980 - Januray 15, 1985 Liberal
Cyril Lloyd Francis January 16, 1984 - November 4, 1984 Liberal 
John William Bosley November 5, 1984 - September 29, 1986 Progressive Conservative
John Allen, Fraser September 300, 1986 - January 16, 1994 Progressive Conservative
Gilbert Parent January 17, 1994 - January 28, 2001 Liberal
Peter Milliken January 29, 2001 - present Liberal

JEROME, James Alexander 1974.09.30 - 1979.12.14 Liberal LAMOUREUX, Lucien 1966.01.18 - 1974.09.29 Liberal MACNAUGHTON, Alan Aylesworth 1963.05.16 - 1966.01.17 Liberal LAMBERT, Marcel Joseph Aimé 1962.09.27 - 1963.05.15 Progressive Conservative MICHENER, Daniel Roland 1957.10.14 - 1962.09.26 Progressive Conservative BEAUDOIN, Louis-René 1953.11.12 - 1957.10.13 Liberal MACDONALD, William Ross 1949.09.15 - 1953.06.11 Liberal FAUTEUX, Gaspard 1945.09.06 - 1949.09.14 Liberal GLEN, James Allison 1940.05.16 - 1945.09.05 Liberal CASGRAIN, Pierre-François 1936.02.06 - 1940.05.10 Liberal BOWMAN, James Langstaff 1935.01.17 - 1936.02.05 Conservative BLACK, George 1930.09.08 - 1935.01.16 Conservative LEMIEUX, Rodolphe 1922.03.08 - 1930.06.02 Liberal RHODES, Edgar Nelson 1917.01.18 - 1922.03.05 Conservative SÉVIGNY, Albert 1916.01.12 - 1917.01.07 Conservative SPROULE, Thomas Simpson 1911.11.15 - 1915.12.02 Conservative MARCIL, Charles 1909.01.20 - 1911.11.14 Liberal SUTHERLAND, Robert Franklin 1905.01.11 - 1909.01.19 Liberal BELCOURT, Napoléon Antoine 1904.03.10 - 1905.01.10 Liberal BRODEUR, Louis Philippe 1901.02.06 - 1904.01.18 Liberal BAIN, Thomas 1899.08.01 - 1901.02.05 Liberal EDGAR, James David 1896.08.19 - 1899.07.31 Liberal WHITE, Peter 1891.04.29 - 1896.08.18 Conservative OUIMET, Joseph-Aldéric 1887.04.13 - 1891.04.28 Conservative KIRKPATRICK, George Airey 1883.02.08 - 1887.04.12 Conservative BLANCHET, Joseph Godéric 1879.02.13 - 1883.02.07 Liberal-Conservative ANGLIN, Timothy Warren 1874.03.26 - 1879.02.12 Liberal COCKBURN, James 1867.11.06 - 1874.03.05 Conservative


  • Parliamentary Library of Canada - contains biograhpies of all of Canada's speakers and information on the historical developmetn and curretn role of the position.


United Kingdom

In the British House of Commons the Speaker of the House of Commons controls the day to day running of the house. It is he (or she) that decides who may speak and has the powers to discipline members who break the procedures of the house.

The speaker is elected by MPs from amongst their own ranks. There are two methods for electing a speaker. One is used after a General election when the previous speaker indicates that he or she wishes to continue in office. The other procedure is used when a speaker does not choose to return to office, dies, or resigns.

If a new speaker is to be elected, the Father of the House becomes the presiding officer. Candidates must be nominated by at least twelve members; at least three of these members must not share a party with the candidate being proposed. If there is only one candidate, then the House votes on a motion that the candidate be elected. If there are multiple candidates, the House votes by secret ballot. In the event that no candidate receives a majority, the House votes again, but the candidate who received the fewest votes and also any candidate who received less than five percent of the votes are immediately excluded. Even if the ballot yields a definitive result, the speaker is officially elected only when the House formally approves a motion to elect that candidate.

If a speaker seeks re-election after a General election, and this is confirmed by the presiding officer (again the Father of the House), then the House votes on a motion that the speaker be re-elected. If the motion fails, then the procedure of nominated candidates and secret ballots will be used.

The speaker, upon election should break ties with his or her former party as it is essential that the speaker is seen as completely impartial. In fact even after they leave office they will take no part in normal political life and if elevated to the House of Lords will normally sit as a crossbencher

The Speaker wears a certain amount of formal wear however not as much as before 1992, when the first female Speaker (Betty Boothroyd) was elected who rejected the old wig, breeches and buckles formerly associated with the role.

Upon Michael Martin's election, he decided not to return to the old ceremonial wear feeling that it was no longer appropriate in light of the moves to reform the procedure of Parliament.

The Speaker is assisted by three deputies. The most senior deputy has the title of "Chairman of Ways and Means." The other two deputies are the First Deputy and Second Deputy Chairmen of Ways and Means. The Speaker does not preside during all House sessions; deputies take the chair for a very high proportion of the time.

Speakers of the House from 1701

  • 1701 - 1705 R Harley
  • 1705 - 1708 J Smith
  • 1708 - 1710 Sir R Onslow
  • 1710 - 1713 W Bromley
  • 1714 - 1715 Sir T Hanmer
  • 1715 - 1727 Sir S Crompton
  • 1728 - 1761 A Onslow
  • 1761 - 1770 Sir J Cust
  • 1770 - 1780 Sir F Norton
  • 1780 - 1789 C Wolfran Cornwall
  • 1789 W W Grenville
  • 1789 - 1801 H Addington
  • 1801 - 1802 Sir J Mitford
  • 1802 - 1817 C Abbot
  • 1817 - 1834 C Manners-Sutton
  • 1835 - 1839 J Abercromby
  • 1839 - 1857 C Shaw-Lefevre
  • 1857 - 1872 J E Denison
  • 1872 - 1884 H B W Brand
  • 1886 - 1895 A W Peel
  • 1895 - 1905 W C Gully
  • 1905 - 1921 J W Lowther
  • 1921 - 1928 J H Whitley
  • 1928 - 1943 E A Fitzroy
  • 1943 - 1951 D Clifton Brown
  • 1951 - 1959 W S Morrison
  • 1959 - 1965 Sir H Hylton-Foster
  • 1965 - 1971 Dr H King
  • 1971 - 1976 J Selwyn Lloyd
  • 1976 - 1983 George Thomas
  • 1983 - 1992 B B Weatherill
  • 1992 - 2000 Betty Boothroyd
  • 2000 - present Michael Martin
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