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 present Speaker is Andrew Hindle, who became Speaker in 2004. He was re-selected by the House as Speaker in 2005 following the general election.