Speaker of the Georgeland House of Commons

The Speaker of the Georgeland House of Commons is the Georgeland House of Commons' presiding officer. The Speaker is chosen, in theory at least, by the members of the House - in practice the Speaker is chosen by the government party. Conservative Prime Ministers have usually hand-picked the Speaker, whereas in Labour and Liberal Democratic governments the governing party or coalition holds a ballot to nominate their Speaker candidate. The Speaker keeps order in the chamber, and has authority over all members, including the Prime Minister and the Cabinet. The Speaker is a partisan MP, and continues to attend party meetings. There are two Deputy Speakers, one of whom by tradition is drawn from the Opposition. There are also a number of Temporary Chairs of Committees, who take the Speaker's Chair when the House enters the Committee of the Whole or when neither Deputy Speaker is available. The Speaker must be re-nominated at the beginning of every Parliament. Some Speakers serve multiple terms, others leave after one. In theory, a Speaker continues in office until a new one is appointed, although this is not the practice. The Speaker has almost always been drawn from the governing party or coalition. In 1999, Janet Morris was allowed by the House to continue as Speaker despite the Labour Party losing power. The current Speaker is the Hon. Joan Staley, MP. She is the third woman to hold the post.

List of Speakers

Member	Party	Term in Office
Hon Sir Ronald Parkhurst	Conservative	1891 - 1896
Hon Sir Geoffrey Manson	Conservative	1896 - 1901
Hon Peter Brockton	Conservative	1901-1903
Hon Nelson Branton	Protectionist	1903-1905
Hon Philip Massingbird	Protectionist	1905-1908
Hon Hugh Kalter	Protectionist	1908 - 1911
Hon George Walker	Labour	1911-1915
Hon Andrew Anderson	Conservative	1915-1918
Hon George Douglas	Conservative	1918-1922
Hon Francis Anthony	Conservative	1922-1924
Hon Humphrey Grant	Labour	1924-1928
Hon Louis Mitchell	Conservative	1928-1930
Hon Francis Anthony	Conservative	1930-1935
Hon George Brown	Labour	1935-1938
Hon Douglas Harrod	Labour	1938-1943
Hon Michael Emerson	Labour	1943-1949
Hon John Bennetton	Conservative	1950-1954
Hon Benjamin Thorpe	Labour	1954-1958
Hon Gregory Hudson	Conservative	1958-1961
Hon Bernard Massey	Conservative	1961-1964
Hon Roland Carp	Conservative	1964-1967
Hon Arthur Lightfoot	Conservative	1967-1970
Hon Michael G. Pickett	Labour	1970-1971
Hon Donald Arthur	Labour	1971-1973
Hon Liam Robinson	Labour	1973-1979
Hon Nathanial Proctor-Bryce	Conservative	1979-1981
Hon Eric Bronson	Conservative	1981
Hon Martin Payne	Conservative	1981-1983
Hon Kevin Lane	Labour	1983-1987
Hon Stephen Harrington	Democratic	1987-1991
Hon Andrew Fletcher	Labour	1991-1992
Hon Carol West	Labour	1992-1995
Hon Martin Higgins	Conservative	1995
Hon Michael Boyle	Labour	1995-1997
Hon Janet Morris	Labour	1997-2004
Hon Andrew Hindle	Liberal/Liberal Democrat	2004-2006
Hon Bill Williamson	Liberal Democrat	2006-2007
Hon Joan Staley	Conservative	2007-

In the 38th Parliament, the two Deputy Speakers are Jeff Vincent (First Deputy Speaker, Conservative) and Arthur Palmer (Second Deputy Speaker, Liberal Democrat)