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,
1895 Speaker of the British House of Commons election 1895 Speaker of the British House of Commons election The 1895 election of the Speaker of the House of Commons occurred on 10 April 1895, following the retirement of the previous Speaker Arthur Wellesley Peel. The election resulted in the election of Liberal MP William Court Gully by the narrow margin of 11 votes. It was the first contested Speaker since 27 May 1839. The election was conducted by means of a conventional parliamentary motion, originally to elect Gully. He was proposed by Samuel Whitbread and seconded by Augustine Birrell. Sir John Mowbray then moved an amendment to the original