The Speaker is in fact the chief officer of the House of Commons.
The current Speaker is John Bercow, MP for Buckingham.
The House of Commons elects its own Speaker. There is no requirement for the Speaker to be a member of the governing party. Speakers are elected at the beginning of each new Parliament or when the previous Speaker dies or retires. When the Speaker takes office he must become an impartial MP. Thus he can not take part in the debate or vote except to break ties in votes.
The current Speaker does not wear knee breeches or silk stockings as Speakers have done in the past, but wears black flannel trousers. He also wears his own shoes rather than buckled court shoes, and, like his predecessor, Rt Hon Betty Boothroyd (now Baroness Boothroyd), has decided not to wear the full-bottomed wig previously associated with the position.
On state occasions (such as the Opening of Parliament), the Speaker wears a splendid robe of black satin damask trimmed with gold, at the neck a lace jabot, with lace frills at the sleeves.
Functions of the Speaker:
· presides over the House
· the Speaker calls on members to speak; no member may make a speech without the Speaker's permission
· represents the House in its relations with the Crown, the House of Lords and other authorities
· maintains order
The Speaker is required to keep discipline in the House. If a member deviates from obeying the Standing Orders, the Speaker may warn that member and even order him to leave the Palace of Westminster for the remainder of the day. This process is normally known as 'naming' an MP. Once the MP has been named by the Speaker, if necessary the House then votes on whether the MP named should be suspended.
If the motion is agreed to, then the member is suspended for 5 days if the offence was his or her first during the session. For a second offence during the same session, a 20 day suspension applies. For a third offence, the House determines the suspension period. If a suspended member fails to leave the House, he or she may be suspended for the entire session.
· Ceremonial Role
It is the Speaker who acts as the spokesman for the House on ceremonial and formal occasions - for example, when addresses of congratulation were presented to The Queen on the occasion of her Silver Jubilee in 1977 and Golden Jubilee in 2002. Nowadays such occasions are usually happy events; but in past centuries a Speaker might have been called upon to deliver to an autocratic and even despotic Sovereign a message which might be much less welcome – the reasons, for instance, why the Commons had disagreed to raising a tax for the royal revenues. In fact, nine Speakers, all prior to 1560, are known to have died a violent death.
The Speaker leaves his residence at the Westminster Bridge end of the Palace of Westminster proceeded by a Bar Doorkeeper, the Serjeant at Arms with the Mace, and followed by the Trainbearer, Chaplain and Secretary. From here begins a formal procession via the Library Corridor, the Lower Waiting Hall, Central and Members' Lobbies to the Chamber before every sitting of the House. This route was adopted during the Second World War when the Commons were using the House of Lords Chamber after their own had been destroyed. It has been retained in preference to the shorter prewar route as it enables visitors in Central Lobby to witness the ceremony.
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