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,
Next Speaker of the British House of Commons election are any candidates who receive less than five per cent of the votes cast. The House then continues to vote until one member receives a majority of the vote. A motion is then put before the House asking if the candidate who won a majority in the secret ballot should take the Chair as Speaker. If the motion is past, the winning candidate is dragged by MPs to the Chair as Speaker-elect. The Speaker is then formally appointed by receiving the Queen's approbation through a Royal Commission in the House of Lords. Following reports that John Bercow plans to step