Lord Speaker

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The Lord Speaker is the speaker of the House of Lords in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The office is analogous to the Speaker of the House of Commons. It was announced on 4 July 2006 that Baroness Hayman had won the first election for the position.

Until July 2006, the role of presiding officer in the House of Lords was undertaken by the Lord Chancellor. Under the Constitutional Reform Act 2005, the position of the Speaker of the House of Lords (as it is termed in the Act) became a separate office, allowing the position to be held by someone other than the Lord Chancellor. The Lord Chancellor continued to act as speaker of the House of Lords in an interim period after the Act was passed, while the House of Lords considered new arrangements about their speakership.

The separation of the Lord Chancellor's various roles is in line with Labour's manifesto commitments to reform the House of Lords. This changing role is also designed to avoid challenges under the Human Rights Act, which might arise from his roles as head of the judiciary and also a Cabinet Minister.

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[edit] Title and role

The House of Commons has a "Mr/Madam Speaker" as its speaker, and the House of Lords now has a similar position. However, the House of Lords is largely self-governing, and the speaker in the House of Lords has traditionally taken a less active role in debates than the speaker in the House of Commons. For example, unlike the Speaker of the House of Commons, the Lord Speaker will not call the House to order, nor determine who is to speak when two individuals rise at the same time, nor rule on points of order, nor discipline members who violate the rules of the House, nor select amendments to bills—all these functions are performed by the House of Lords as a whole. Furthermore, whilst speeches in the House of Commons are addressed directly to the Speaker, those in the House of Lords are addressed to the House as a whole.

In 2003, a Select Committee of the House of Lords looked into the proposed new office, including the title for the elected speaker of the Lords. Following their recommendations, the new speaker is named "Lord Speaker", and the number of deputy speakers will fall from 25 to 12.[1]

The House of Lords Select Committee, chaired by Lord Lloyd of Berwick, a cross-bencher, was reconvened on 12 July 2005 to decide on the name and the duties of the new speaker, and how the new speaker would be selected.[2] The committee reported to the House of Lords on 19 December 2005, recommending powers, method of election and title of the new Speaker. Despite speculation, it recommended the title "Lord Speaker", noting that it was already in use "in the Standing Orders and the Companion".[3]

The Lord Speaker will assume most of the duties that the Lord Chancellor used to have in relation to his Parliamentary role, including ceremonial duties such as the State Opening of Parliament. There is also a debate whether the new speaker should have additional powers and responsibilities that the Lord Chancellor does not have. The role of the Lords Commissioners will continue, and the Lord Chancellor will continue to be the Lord Keeper of the Great Seal.

The Lord Speaker is elected for a maximum term of five years, and may serve a maximum of two terms. The Lord Speaker earns the same salary as a Cabinet Minister in the House of Lords (£102,685 in 2006), less than the Speaker of the House of Commons. Like the Lord Chancellor, the Lord Speaker will wear court dress with a plain black silk gown while presiding over the House, and a black silk damask and gold lace ceremonial gown on state occasions, but unlike the Lord Chancellor will not wear a wig. When presiding over debates, the Lord Speaker sits on the Woolsack.

Like the Speaker of the House of Commons, but unlike the Lord Chancellor who was also a judge and a government minister, the Lord Speaker is expected to remain non-partisan whilst in office. On election, the Lord Speaker resigns the party whip and outside interests to concentrate on being an impartial presiding officer.

By Royal Warrant on 4 July 2006, the Queen declared that the Lord Speaker would have rank and precedence immediately after the Speaker of the House of Commons.

[edit] Election of the first Lord Speaker

A list of nine candidates was announced on 6 June 2006, consisting of: three Conservatives (Lord Elton, Baroness Fookes and Viscount Ullswater), two Labour (Baroness Hayman and Lord Richard), one Liberal Democrat (Lord Redesdale), two Crossbenchers (Lord Boston of Faversham and the Countess of Mar) and one non-affiliated (Lord Grenfell).[4] [5]

The election of the first Lord Speaker, Baroness Hayman, was announced on 4 July 2006.[6][7] and Baroness Hayman immediately replaced the Lord Chancellor on the woolsack. The Lord Chamberlain, Lord Luce, was on hand to confirm the approval of Queen Elizabeth II to the election of Baroness Hayman, although this was a mere formality.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Speakership of the House - First Report, HL 199, 18 November 2003.
  2. ^ House of Lords Select Committee on the Speakership of the House, official Parliament.uk website.
  3. ^ Speakership of the House - First Report, HL 92, 13 December 2005.
  4. ^ Nine peers vie to be first Speaker, The Daily Telegraph, 7 June 2006
  5. ^ The Election and Role of the new Lord Speaker of the House of Lords - Briefing 11 May 2006. Accessed 6 June 2006. (PDF)
  6. ^ Hayman chosen to be Lords speaker, BBC News, 4 July 2006.
  7. ^ Lord Speaker election results, 4 July 2006. (PDF)

[edit] External links

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