The Speaker of the House of Commons is the presiding officer of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. The office was established by the Acts of Union 1800, which combined the Irish House of Commons and House of Commons of Great Britain, forming the modern Commons.
- Top left: John Smith was the first speaker of the modern House of Commons.
- Top right: Arthur Onslow is the longest-serving speaker so far.
- Bottom left: Betty Boothroyd was the first female speaker.
- Bottom right: Lindsay Hoyle is the incumbent speaker.
A speaker is elected at the beginning of every parliamentary term and has no term limits. Upon being elected, it is by convention that they disaffiliate themselves with any political parties. As the speaker remains a member of parliament (MP) for their constituency, there is a gentlemen's agreement between major political parties to not run candidates in the speaker's constituency.
The incumbent speaker is Lindsay Hoyle, MP for Chorley, who assumed office on 4 November 2019.
List of speakers
House of Commons of Great Britain, 1707–1800
The Kingdom of Great Britain was created by the Acts of Union 1707. At the beginning of 1801, Great Britain was combined with the Kingdom of Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, with a single House of Commons serving the whole kingdom.
John Smith, Speaker of the House of Commons of England since October 1705, was elected the first Speaker of the House of Commons of Great Britain.
| Portrait | Name Constituency (Birth–Death) | Term of office E: Election R: Royal approbation †: Death | Election(s) (in brackets if unopposed) Parliament(s) | Retirement peerage | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Smith MP for Andover (1656–1723) | E 23 October R 30 October 1707 | 1708 | (1707) | 1 | — | |
| Sir Richard Onslow 2nd Baronet MP for Surrey (1654–1717) | E 16 November R 18 November 1708 | 1710 | (1708) | 2 | Baron Onslow | |
| William Bromley MP for Oxford University (1663–1732) | E 25 November R 27 November 1710 | 1713 | (1710) | 3 | — | |
| Sir Thomas Hanmer 4th Baronet MP for Suffolk (1677–1746) | E 16 February R 18 February 1714 | 1715 | (1714) | 4 | — | |
| Sir Spencer Compton MP for Sussex (c. 1673–1743) | E 17 March R 21 March 1715 | 1727 | (1715) (1722) | 5 6 | Baron Wilmington | |
| Arthur Onslow MP for Surrey (1691–1768) | E 23 January R 27 January 1728 | 18 March 1761 | (1728) (1735) (1741) (1747) (1754) | 7 8 9 10 11 | ||
| Sir John Cust 3rd Baronet MP for Grantham (1718–1770) | E 3 November R 6 November 1761 | 19 January 1770 | (1761) (1768) | 12 13 | ||
| Sir Fletcher Norton MP for Guildford (1716–1789) | E 22 January R 23 January 1770 | 31 October 1780 | 1770 (1774) | 13 14 | Baron Grantley | |
| Charles Wolfran Cornwall MP for Winchelsea until 1784 MP for Rye from 1784 (1735–1789) | E 31 October R 1 November 1780 | 2 January 1789† | 1780 (1784) | 15 16 | ||
| William Wyndham Grenville MP for Buckinghamshire (1759–1834) | E 5 January 1789 no royal approbation | 5 June 1789 | Jan. 1789 | 16 | Baron Grenville | |
| Henry Addington MP for Devizes (1757–1844) | E 8 June R 9 June 1789 | continued as UK Speaker | Jun. 1789 (1790) (1796) | 16 17 18 | Viscount Sidmouth | |
House of Commons of the United Kingdom from 1801
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was created in 1801. In 1922 the Irish Free State ceased to be part of the UK. The official name of the United Kingdom was changed to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, in 1927.
| Portrait | Name Constituency (Birth–Death) | Term of office E: Election R: Royal approbation †: Death | Election(s) (in brackets if unopposed) Parliament(s) | Party | Retirement peerage | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Henry Addington MP for Devizes (1757–1844) | E 22 January R 23 January 1801 | 10 February 1801 | (Jan. 1801) | 1 | Tory | Viscount Sidmouth | ||
| Sir John Mitford MP for East Looe (1748–1830) | E 11 February R 12 February 1801 | 9 February 1802 | (Feb. 1801) | 1 | Tory | Baron Redesdale | ||
| Charles Abbot MP for Helston until 1802 MP for Woodstock 1802–1806 MP for Oxford University after 1806 (1757–1829) | E 10 February R 11 February 1802 | 2 June 1817 | (Feb. 1802) (Nov. 1802) (1806) (1807) (1812) | 1 2 3 4 5 | Tory | Baron Colchester | ||
| Sir Charles Manners-Sutton MP for Scarborough until 1832 MP for Cambridge University after 1832 (1780–1845) | E 2 June R 3 June 1817 | 19 February 1835 | 1817 (1819) (1820) (1826) (1830) (1831) 1833 | 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 | Tory | Viscount Canterbury | ||
| James Abercromby MP for Edinburgh (1776–1858) | E 19 February R 20 February 1835 | 27 May 1839 | 1835 (1837) | 12 13 | Whig | Baron Dunfermline | ||
| Charles Shaw-Lefevre MP for North Hampshire (1794–1888) | E 27 May R 28 May 1839 | 30 April 1857 | 1839 (1841) (1847) (1852) | 13 14 15 16 | Whig | Viscount Eversley | ||
| John Evelyn Denison MP for North Nottinghamshire (1800–1873) | E 30 April R 1 May 1857 | 9 February 1872 | (1857) (1859) (1866) (1868) | 17 18 19 20 | Liberal | Viscount Ossington | ||
| Sir Henry Brand MP for Cambridgeshire (1814–1892) | E 9 February R 12 February 1872 | 26 February 1884 | (1872) (1874) (1880) | 20 21 22 | Liberal | Viscount Hampden | ||
| Arthur Peel MP for Warwick until 1885 MP for Warwick and Leamington after 1885 (1829–1912) | E 26 February R 27 February 1884 | 10 April 1895 | (1884) (Jan. 1886) (Aug. 1886) (1892) | 22 23 24 25 | Liberal | Viscount Peel | ||
| William Court Gully MP for Carlisle (1835–1909) | E 10 April R 22 April 1895 | 8 June 1905 | Apr. 1895 (Aug. 1895) (1900) | 25 26 27 | Liberal | Viscount Selby | ||
| James Lowther MP for Penrith until 1918 MP for Penrith and Cockermouth after 1918 (1855–1949) | E 8 June R 20 June 1905 | 28 April 1921 | (1905) (1906) (1910) (1911) (1919) | 27 28 29 30 31 | Conservative | Viscount Ullswater | ||
| John Henry Whitley MP for Halifax (1866–1935) | E & R 28 April 1921 | 20 June 1928 | (1921) (1922) (Jan. 1924) (Dec. 1924) | 31 32 33 34 | Liberal (Coalition) | |||
| Edward FitzRoy MP for Daventry (1869–1943) | E 20 June R 21 June 1928 | 3 March 1943† | (1928) (1929) (1931) (1935) | 34 35 36 37 | Conservative | |||
| Douglas Clifton Brown MP for Hexham (1879–1958) | E & R 9 March 1943 | 31 October 1951 | (1943) (1945) (1950) | 37 38 39 | Conservative | Viscount Ruffside | ||
| William Morrison MP for Cirencester and Tewkesbury (1893–1961) | E 31 October R 1 November 1951 | 19 September 1959 | 1951 (1955) | 40 41 | Conservative | Viscount Dunrossil | ||
| Sir Harry Hylton-Foster MP for Cities of London and Westminster (1905–1965) | E 20 October R 21 October 1959 | 2 September 1965† | (1959) (1964) | 42 43 | Conservative | |||
| Horace King MP for Southampton Itchen (1901–1986) | E & R 26 October 1965 | 12 January 1971 | (1965) (1966) (1970) | 43 44 45 | Labour | Baron Maybray-King for Life | ||
| Selwyn Lloyd MP for Wirral (1904–1978) | E & R 12 January 1971 | 3 February 1976 | 1971 (Mar. 1974) (Oct. 1974) | 45 46 47 | Conservative | Baron Selwyn-Lloyd for Life | ||
| George Thomas MP for Cardiff West (1909–1997) | E & R 3 February 1976 | 10 June 1983 | (1976) (1979) | 47 48 | Labour | Viscount Tonypandy | ||
| Bernard Weatherill MP for Croydon North East (1920–2007) | E 15 June R 16 June 1983 | 9 April 1992 | (1983) (1987) | 49 50 | Conservative | Baron Weatherill for Life | ||
| Betty Boothroyd MP for West Bromwich West (1929–2023) | E 27 April R 28 April 1992 | 23 October 2000 | 1992 (1997) | 51 52 | Labour | Baroness Boothroyd for Life | ||
| Michael Martin MP for Glasgow Springburn until 2005 MP for Glasgow North East after 2005 (1945–2018) | E & R 23 October 2000 | 22 June 2009 | 2000 (2001) (2005) | 52 53 54 | Labour | Baron Martin of Springburn for Life | ||
| John Bercow MP for Buckingham (born 1963) | E & R 22 June 2009 | 4 November 2019 | 2009 (2010) (2015) (2017) | 54 55 56 57 | Conservative | — | ||
| Sir Lindsay Hoyle MP for Chorley (born 1957) | E & R 4 November 2019 | Incumbent | Nov. 2019 (Dec. 2019) (2024) | 57 58 59 | Labour | — | ||
Bibliography
- Laundy, Philip (1964). The Office of Speaker. Cassell & Company.
- Marsden, Philip (1979). The Officers of the Commons 1363–1978. Her Majesty's Stationery Office.
- Butler, David; Butler, Gareth (2000). Twentieth Century Political Facts 1900–2000 (Hardcover ed.). Macmillan Press. ISBN 0-333-77221-0.
- Cobbett, Richard. The Parliamentary History of England.
- Cook, Chris; Keith, Brendan (1975). British Historical Facts 1830–1900. Macmillan Press.
- Cook, Chris; Stevenson, John (1980). British Historical Facts 1760–1830. Macmillan Press. ISBN 0-333-21512-5.
- Venning, Timothy (2005). Compendium of British Office Holders. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-1-4039-2045-4.
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