Speaker of the House of Commons (United Kingdom) and 2005. At the 2010 general election, Speaker John Bercow faced ten opponents, including Nigel Farage, former leader of UKIP, who obtained 17.4% of the vote, and John Stevens, from the Buckinghamshire Campaign for Democracy party, who obtained 21.4%. Bercow won with 47% of the vote. The Speaker's primary function is to preside over the House of Commons. Traditionally, the Speaker when presiding wore court dress—a black coat with white shirt and bands, beneath a black gown, with stockings and buckled shoes, and a full-bottomed wig. But in 1992 Betty Boothroyd, the first female Speaker, eschewed the wig. Her successor,
Next Speaker of the British House of Commons election down in 2019, a number of potential candidates have attracted speculation in the media, including: Chris Bryant (Labour MP for Rhondda), Harriet Harman (Labour MP for Camberwell and Peckham and former cabinet minister), Lindsay Hoyle (Labour MP for Chorley and current Deputy Speaker), Dame Eleanor Laing (Conservative MP for Epping Forest and current Deputy Speaker), Charles Walker (Conservative MP for Broxbourne) and Dame Rosie Winterton (Labour MP for Doncaster Central and current Deputy Speaker) Next Speaker of the British House of Commons election The next election of the Speaker of the House of Commons is due to take place at