Speaker of the House of Commons (United Kingdom) Speaker of the House of Commons (United Kingdom) The Speaker of the House of Commons is the presiding officer of the House of Commons, the United Kingdom's lower chamber of Parliament. The office is currently held by John Bercow, who was initially elected on 22 June 2009, following the resignation of Michael Martin. He was returned as an MP in the 2010 general election and was re-elected as Speaker when the House sat at the start of the new parliament on 18 May 2010. He was again returned as an MP in the 2015 general election and was re-elected, unopposed,
Speaker of the House of Commons (United Kingdom) the nature of the Speakership. Speakers were generally associated with the ministry, and often held other government offices. For example, Robert Harley served simultaneously as Speaker and as a Secretary of State between 1704 and 1705. The Speaker between 1728 and 1761, Arthur Onslow, reduced ties with the government, though the office did remain to a large degree political. The Speakership evolved into its modern form—in which the holder is an impartial and apolitical officer who does not belong to any party—only during the middle of the 19th century. Over 150 individuals have served as Speaker of the House of