Speaker of the House of Commons (United Kingdom) he returned to wearing the traditional robe in 2016. Speaker of the House of Commons (United Kingdom) The Speaker of the House of Commons is the presiding officer of the House of Commons, the United Kingdom's lower chamber of Parliament. The office is currently held by John Bercow, who was initially elected on 22 June 2009, following the resignation of Michael Martin. He was returned as an MP in the 2010 general election and was re-elected as Speaker when the House sat at the start of the new parliament on 18 May 2010. He was again returned as an MP
Resignation from the British House of Commons and re-enacted in modified form by the Succession to the Crown Act 1707 (also called the Place Act), an MP who accepted an office of profit under the Crown was obliged to leave his post, it being feared that his independence would be compromised if he were in the King's pay. The prohibition was on a sitting MP accepting an office of profit under the Crown, but it did not disqualify someone already holding such an office from being elected to the House of Commons. As a result, this meant a ministerial by-election when any MP became a government minister,