The debates in the chamber of the House of Commons are conducted by the Speaker of the House of Commons. The Speaker is selected from amongst the MPs by the other members of the Parliament. The speaker is the person who maintains the order and calls the MPs to speak. The chief officer and the highest authority in the House of Commons is the Speaker. The Speaker has to remain politically impartial at all times. The Speaker also represents the House of Commons to the monarch, the Lords and Commission of the House of Commons. Presently, the Speaker is Michael Martin, MP for Glasgow North East.
Conducting Debates in the House of Commons
The Speaker is responsible to maintain the order in which the MPs should speak in the Parliament. If any MP wants to speak in the Parliament, then, he wither gives it in writing to the Speaker beforehand or he just stands up so that the Speaker catches the Speaker’s eye. The Speaker is fully responsible to make sure that the MPs follow the rules of the House during the debates. The Speaker can:
Ask a MP to withdraw remarks that he makes in abusive language
Suspend the sitting of the House in case of a serious disorder
Suspend MPs who deliberately disobey the rules of the House
Ask the Mps to be quiet so that every one can be heard.
Election of the Speaker
A Speaker is elected from amongst the elected MPs. The contender for the post of Speaker has to have a winning majority in the House of Commons in order to become a Speaker. The election of the Speaker takes place after every General Election or after the death or retirement of the existing Speaker. The practice is that the Speaker remains in office until retirement and he is automatically re – elected internally after every General Elections.
Politically Impartial
Speakers should not support any political party. Once a MP is selected a Speaker, he has to resign from the political party to which he belongs. He should not participate in any political issue. However, the Speaker is entitled to deal with any problem that arises in his constituency.\as any other normal MP would do.
General Elections and Speakers
Speakers can take part in general elections. During a general election, a Speaker cannot campaign as a member of any political party, but he can simply ask for vote as ‘the Speaker seeking re-election’.
