2000 Speaker of the British House of Commons election for electing a Speaker were changed the following year to a use a secret and exhaustive ballot. This procedure was first used in the Speaker election of 2009. Under the old system for electing Speakers of the House of Commons, a candidate would be nominated and seconded, and alternative candidates would be offered as 'amendments' to that initial motion. In 2000, 11 candidates stepped forward, leading Sir Edward Heath, presiding in his capacity as Father of the House, to have the candidates voted on two at a time. He called Michael Martin to be nominated first. In the event, no
Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives This privilege is usually only given to those who have served as Speaker for at least three years. Speaker Harry Jenkins (2008–11) was the first Speaker to ask that "The Honourable" title not be used in reference to him, while also making clear that he was not attempting to set a precedent for future Speakers; he was simply not personally comfortable with the title. Following the Westminster tradition inherited from the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, the traditional dress of the Speaker includes components of Court dress such as a black silk lay-type gown (similar to a Queen's