Speaker of the House of Commons

[brianmelendez]

Three questions about the Speaker of the UK House of Commons:

1. The UK Parliament’s website says that

Following the death or resignation of the previous Speaker, or if the previous Speaker does not return after a General Election, there may be more than one candidate wishing to stand. On 23 October 2000, when Speaker Martin was first elected, eleven other candidates were proposed. The House voted on each one, taking up many hours of parliamentary time. This prompted an inquiry by the Procedure Committee. Their report recommended that the House be able to choose to hold a secret ballot on future occasions. As part of the new procedures agreed in March 2001, Members would vote in a series of rounds with candidates eliminated until one candidate gains more than half of the votes. This procedure has not yet been used.

Traditionally, the practice had been for the Government, after consultation with the Opposition, to put forward the name of an MP acceptable to all sections of the House. He or she was then proposed and seconded by members of the backbenches.

Has the House ever elected a Speaker from the opposition?

2. May the House elect a Speaker who is not a Member of Parliament?

3. Who advises the Speaker about procedure? The presiding officers in the US Congress are supported by a professional staff that includes a parliamentarian, who usually sits on the dais directly beneath the presiding officer. Does the Commons Speaker have a comparable set of advisors?

[everton]

@brianmelendez

Three questions about the Speaker of the UK House of Commons:

1. Has the House ever elected a Speaker from the opposition?

Yes. For instance Betty Boothroyd was a Labour MP when she was elected Speaker under John Major’s Conservative government in 1992. I’m sure there are others.

2. May the House elect a Speaker who is not a Member of Parliament?

No, the Speaker is always an MP.

3. Who advises the Speaker about procedure? The presiding officers in the US Congress are supported by a professional staff that includes a parliamentarian, who usually sits on the dais directly beneath the presiding officer. Does the Commons Speaker have a comparable set of advisors?

Experience and knowledge of paliamentary procedure is a significant factor in deciding who to elect as Speaker. Since 1844, a book referred to as “Erskine May” (a.k.a. Erskine May’s Treatise on the Law, Privileges, Proceedings and Usage of Parliament), has been the official guide to parliamentary procedure, and the Speaker will refer to that for advice.

Three deputies are chosen to assist the Speaker and stand in for debates when he/she is not in the House, but someone else will have to explain what other staff advise the Speaker and how comparable that is with Congress.

[BobT]

I think the biggest difference between the UK Speaker and the US Speaker is that the US Speaker of the House has a lot more responsibility. He (or she one of these days) is in the line of succession for the presidency.

Dennis Hastert doesn’t sit in the Speaker’s chair all that much. He’s there at the beginning of the session, but after a while, another member of the House comes to sit in the chair.

Unless the debate is extremely important, somebody else is calling the shots from the chair in Congress.

[APB]

1. Has the House ever elected a Speaker from the opposition?

The usual practice has been for the Speaker to be appointed from the largest party, mainly for the obvious reason that it has more MPs voting in the election. The Government conventionally takes the line that they will leave it to the House to decide, although they can appear weak if they can’t get their preferred candidate chosen. The conventional rationale is that the Government has more spare MPs. Remember, however, that parties sometimes calculate that it’s actually better for them if the Speaker is chosen from the other side. This is particularly true when the Government has only a small majority. It also tends to be the case that new Speakers try to distance themselves from their own party as a way of demonstrating their independence.

The election of Speaker Boothroyd was something of a special case as there was a general feeling that it might be a good idea to be seen to be electing a woman. It helped that she was an exceptionally strong candidate. The narrowness of the Government’s majority was also a factor.

2. May the House elect a Speaker who is not a Member of Parliament?

No, although it is technically possible for the Speaker of the House of Lords not be a member of the Lords. This will doubtless change under the current plans to separate the Speakership of the Lords from the office of Lord Chancellor (and/or Lord Keeper).

3. Who advises the Speaker about procedure? The presiding officers in the US Congress are supported by a professional staff that includes a parliamentarian, who usually sits on the dais directly beneath the presiding officer. Does the Commons Speaker have a comparable set of advisors?

As his title suggests, the Clerk of the Commons acts as the clerk to the Commons. His duties include advising the Speaker on proceedure. (In case you’re wondering, Thomas Erskine May was one of the holders of this position in the nineteenth century and it is the Clerk who oversees the preparation of new editions of his guide.) He and two of his assistants sit at the table immediately in front of the Speaker’s chair. There is an equivalent officer in the Lords, the Clerk of the Parliaments.