United Kingdom

Speaker of the House of Commons

Current holderSir Lindsay Hoyle^1,2

In office since 4 November 2019. Checked 28 October 2026.

How the office holder is chosen

The Speaker is elected by a secret ballot of MPs at the start of a new Parliament, or when the previous Speaker resigns, dies or retires. A sitting Speaker does not need to be re-elected by secret ballot after a general election and can be reappointed by a motion passed by a majority of MPs.²

Term

A Speaker can continue across Parliaments if reappointed by motion after a general election. By convention the Speaker resigns from their party on appointment and does not campaign in general elections. The Speaker remains a serving MP with constituency work.^2,1

Recent holders

Name	From	To
John Bercow¹	22 June 2009	3 November 2019
Sir Lindsay Hoyle¹	4 November 2019	Present

Notable facts

By convention, a Speaker with a casting vote should not vote against the overall majority. At second reading a tie is resolved in favour of the bill, at third reading against it.²
On 22 July 1993, during votes on the Maastricht Treaty, Speaker Betty Boothroyd used her casting vote on a tie of 317 votes each.²
IPU Parline records that Hoyle was elected on 4 November 2019 and re-elected on 17 December 2019 and on 9 July 2024.¹

Sources

Inter-Parliamentary Union, IPU Parline historical data on Speakers: United Kingdom, House of Commons
Institute for Government, Speaker of the House of Commons (explainer) (10 January 2019)