The House of Lords internally elects The Lord Speaker.Amongst the various duties of The Lords Speaker, some are:
Acting as the Chair Person of the Lords Debating Chamber
Advising on various procedures
Acting as an ambassador of the House of Lords, both in UK and abroad.
The present Lords Speaker is Baroness Hayman.
Functions of the Lords Speaker
The main functions of The Lord Speaker are:
Chairing the day to day business of the debating chamber of the House of Lords.
Taking decisions on the formal and informal procedures of the House of Lords’ day to day activities.
To look after the formal security in the House of lords of the Parliament.
Addressing the House on ceremonial occasions
Acting as an ambassador of the House of Lords, both in UK and abroad
The Election of the Lord Speaker
Baroness Hayman has been elected as the first Lady Speaker in the House of Lords on 4th July, 2006.
Term of Office of a Lord Speaker
The term of office of a Lords Speaker is 5 years and a Lord Speaker can hold his office for a maximum of 2 terms. The Lords Speaker now performs certain duties that were previously vested with the Chancellor. However, unlike the Lord Chancellor, the Lord Speaker is independent of government in their appointment and role.
A Comparison between the Lords Speaker and the Speaker of the House of Commons
Although the Lord Speaker is the Chairperson of the Lords debating chamber, they have less authority than the Speaker in the House of Commons. This is so because the Lords themselves control themselves as well as the order of business in the House. Therefore the Lord Speaker does not have the authority to:
Call the House to order or rule on points of order
