Speaker

The Speaker of the House: Elected by Secret Ballot, Sworn to Impartiality, and the Only MP Who Usually Doesn't Vote.

The Speaker of the House of Commons is the presiding officer of the elected chamber, chosen at the start of each Parliament (and after a vacancy) by a secret-ballot, preferential vote of all Members of Parliament — a reform adopted in 1986 that took the choice out of the Prime Minister's hands. On taking the chair, the Speaker sets aside party affiliation and presides impartially: recognizing who has the floor, applying and interpreting the Standing Orders, ruling on points of order and questions of privilege, maintaining decorum, and naming (suspending) members who defy the chair. The Speaker also defends the collective rights of the House — its privileges — including against the government, as in the 2011 finding that the government was in contempt of Parliament for withholding documents, a ruling that flowed from the Speaker. By convention the Speaker does not participate in debate and does not vote, except to break a tie; when casting a tie-breaking vote, the Speaker follows established conventions (generally voting to continue debate or to preserve the status quo rather than to decide the matter substantively). The office also administers the House as an institution — its budget, staff, and security — through the Board of Internal Economy.