Commons Speaker John Bercow has caused controversy by citing a 400-year-old rule which means Theresa May cannot bring her EU Withdrawal Agreement back before MPs unless it is substantially different from the one which was decisively defeated last week.
Here we take a look at the Speaker’s powers:
– What is the role of the Speaker of the House of Commons?
The familiar shout of “Order, order!” explains part of the Speaker’s job in Parliament. They are in charge of keeping order during debates, and calling different MPs to take their turns speaking on various issues.
– What powers does the Speaker have?
The Speaker is the highest authority in the House of Commons and has the power to ensure MPs follow the rules, including asking them to be quiet while others are speaking, directing a member to withdraw remarks if they are deemed to be abusive, and suspending the sitting of the House if there is judged to be serious disorder. An MP can be suspended if they are felt to have been deliberately disobedient.
– Is the Speaker impartial?
The speaker is an elected MP, like all their colleagues in the House, and they are supposed to deal with constituency business as normal. However when elected they are required to resign from their political party and to keep themselves separate from political issues, remaining impartial.
– How is the Speaker elected?
The current speaker was elected in 2009, using an exhaustive secret ballot system. MPs marked an X next to the candidate of their choice on a list. John Bercow got 322 of the 593 ballots cast, at which point the question proposing the successful candidate as Speaker was put before the House and he took the chair.
– How has the current Speaker enforced the rules most recently?
Mr Bercow cited the Commons rulebook Erskine May – the authoritative book on parliamentary law and practice – as he set out a convention dating back to 1604 that a defeated motion cannot be brought back in the same form during the course of a parliamentary session.
His ruling, which came in an unexpected statement to the Commons on Monday, indicated that the Prime Minister cannot bring her EU Withdrawal Agreement back before MPs unless it is substantially different from the package which was decisively defeated last week.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel