Speaker of the House of Commons (United Kingdom) Commons. Their names are inscribed in gold leaf around the upper walls of Room C of the House of Commons Library. The three most recent Speakers have been notable for a series of firsts. Betty Boothroyd, elected in 1992, was the first woman Speaker. Michael Martin, elected in 2000, was the first Roman Catholic Speaker since the Reformation. John Bercow, elected in 2009, is the first Jewish Speaker. By convention, Speakers have traditionally been addressed in Parliament as "Mr Speaker", and their deputies as "Mr Deputy Speaker", regardless of their gender or their usual title. Betty Boothroyd was, at her
Michael Martin, Baron Martin of Springburn a motion of no confidence, which was signed by 22 MPs. Later that day, Martin announced he would resign from his position as Speaker of the House of Commons effective as of 21 June 2009. If the motion had been successful in a vote, Martin would have been the first Speaker to be forced out of office by a motion of no confidence since Sir John Trevor in 1695. Martin said of his decision to resign: He was made the Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead to be able to stand down as an MP on the same