Stump speech (politics) Stump speech (politics) A political stump speech is a standard speech used by a politician running for office. Typically a candidate who schedules many appearances prepares a short standardized stump speech that is repeated verbatim to each audience, before opening to questions. The term derives from the early American custom in which candidates campaigned from town to town and stood upon a sawed off tree stump to deliver their speech. In presidential campaigns in the United States, a candidate's speech at his or her party's presidential nominating convention usually forms the basis for the stump speech for the duration of
Speaker of the House of Commons (United Kingdom) conferred in 1902. In addition to maintaining discipline, the Speaker must ensure that debate proceeds smoothly. If the Speaker finds that a member is making irrelevant remarks, is tediously repetitive, or is otherwise attempting to delay proceedings, he or she may order the member to end the speech. Furthermore, before debate begins, the Speaker may invoke the "Short Speech" rule, under which he or she may set a time limit (at least eight minutes), which will apply to every speech. At the same time, however, the Speaker is charged with protecting the interests of the minority by ensuring sufficient debate