Portcullis House All rooms in the building are fitted with "annunciators" (monitors which announce in real-time the current business in the Chambers of the House of Commons, the House of Lords, or both). "Division bells" are also installed throughout the building, which alert MPs to the calling of a division (vote) in the Chamber of the House of Commons. Along with this, visual aids (a flashing image of a bell) are displayed on television sets and computer desktops in MPs' offices when the Division bell sounds. On the ground floor are a range of services including a waiter-service restaurant ("The Adjournment"), informal
2000 Speaker of the British House of Commons election 2000 Speaker of the British House of Commons election The 2000 election of the Speaker of the House of Commons occurred on 23 October 2000 after the retirement of Betty Boothroyd as Speaker. The election resulted in the election of Labour MP Michael Martin, who had served as Deputy Speaker since 1997. It was the first contested election since 27 April 1992. This was the last Speaker election to be conducted by means of a conventional parliamentary motion with recorded votes on an amendment for each candidate. With an unusually large number of candidates, a significant number of MPs spoke