2000 Speaker of the British House of Commons election candidate was able to surpass Martin in any of the ballots, and once all Martin's opponents had been eliminated from the contest, the original motion that he be elected Speaker was met with some audible opposition. A division was therefore held, but the motion was approved by 370 votes to 8. Martin was thus elected Speaker. 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,
Speaker of the House of Commons (United Kingdom) was to be conferred), a routine division of the House would resolve in favour of one candidate. There was, however, a considerable amount of behind-the-scenes lobbying before suitable candidates were agreed upon, and so it was very rare for a new Speaker to be opposed. However, this system broke down in 2000 when 12 rival candidates declared for the job and the debate occupied an entire Parliamentary day. The House of Commons Procedure Committee then re-examined the means of electing a Speaker and recommended a new system that came into effect in 2007 and was first used in June 2009,