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,
Speaker of the House of Commons (Canada) Speaker is also responsible for the management of the entire House of Commons campus, and the 2,000 individuals who work there. In 2015 Speaker Andrew Scheer managed a budget of $414 million. The term "Speaker" originates from the British parliamentary tradition. The French term now used in Canada is "Président" (president, chairperson, or presiding officer); the term "Orateur," a calque (literal translation) of "Speaker" and formerly the term used in France for the Speaker of the British House of Commons, was used until a few decades ago. By convention, Speakers are normally addressed in Parliament as "Mister Speaker", for a