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 New Zealand House of Representatives Speaker only when presiding over the House. That year, the position of Deputy Speaker was made official, and the role of Chairman of Committees was discontinued. The first Deputy Speaker was appointed on 10 November 1992. Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives In New Zealand, the Speaker of the House of Representatives () is the individual who chairs the country's elected legislative body, the New Zealand House of Representatives. The individual who holds the position is elected by members of the House from among their number in the first session after each general election. The current Speaker is