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
Speaker of the House of Commons (United Kingdom) refer to each other in the third person by the name of their constituency or their ministerial titles (not their names); they may not directly address anyone other than the Speaker (who does call them by name). In order to remain neutral, the Speaker generally refrains from making speeches, although there is nothing to prevent him or her from doing so. For example, on Wednesday 3 December 2008, Speaker Martin addressed the House on the subject of the arrest of Damian Green MP and the subsequent searching of his office within the precincts of the House of Commons. During debate,