Speaker (politics) - United Kingdom and Other "Westminster System" Countries

United Kingdom and Other "Westminster System" Countries

See also: Speaker of the House of Commons (United Kingdom), Lord Speaker, Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada, Speaker of the Canadian Senate, Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives, President of the Australian Senate, Ceann Comhairle, and Cathaoirleach

In Westminster-style chambers, the speaker does not have a deliberative vote, but only a tiebreaker. In some countries such as the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, this has developed into a convention of scrupulous political neutrality and the speaker resigns from his party, votes only by convention to ensure the government does not fall, and is either not challenged (in the UK) or automatically deemed elected if re-election is sought (in Ireland). Despite these conventions, the speaker is usually elected from among the members of the assembly by the members, and whips are not allowed to be among the selection. In the United Kingdom, a speaker is normally chosen from one of the two largest parties.

These conventions do not apply in all countries. In Canada, major parties routinely field candidates against a speaker seeking re-election, although there have been exceptions such as the 1968 general election when the parties agreed not to nominate candidates in then-speaker Lucien Lamoureux's constituency. In Australia, the speakership is a partisan position and the politically neutral position of the UK has been criticised by the Clerk of the Senate as potentially disenfranchising voters in the Speaker's seat.

Upper Houses in Westminster style Parliaments often have a presiding office which works differently, following the different conventions that apply in the British House of Lords. The officer may still be titled Speaker, as (since 2006) in the House of Commons, or use a different title, such as "President" as in the Australian Senate.