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, chosen on 21st August 2006, is the Hon. Bill Williamson.
List of Speakers
In the current Parliament, the two Deputy Speakers are Arthur Palmer (First Deputy Speaker, LDP) and Joan Staley (Second Deputy Speaker, Conservative)