– in the House of Lords am 2:54 pm ar 9 Gorffennaf 2024.
Lord Kennedy of Southwark
Deputy Chairman of Committees, Deputy Speaker (Lords)
2:54,
9 Gorffennaf 2024
My Lords, before the House proceeds to oath-taking, I thought it would be helpful to set out how the process will work. As is customary, after I have finished, the Lord Speaker, the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Senior Deputy Speaker and the main party leaders will proceed to take the Oath of Allegiance. After this, any Front-Bench Members in the Chamber will have priority. They should be followed by any Members with a disability or impaired mobility.
Members should start to queue below the Bar so that they can re-enter the Floor of the House on the temporal side, where a rope will guide the queue. Any Members with impaired mobility should alert the doorkeepers, who will ensure that they are given priority throughout the day. Members must start to queue to take their oaths only after any priority Members have done so. Noble Lords may find it convenient to remain in their place until this point. When wider oath-taking commences, I ask all Members to leave the Chamber to queue in Peers’ Lobby before entering to take their oath.
There will be a short adjournment of oath-taking at around 3.35 pm for the second Royal Commission. I thank all noble Lords in advance for their patience as the House staff support a large number of us to take our oaths of allegiance as quickly as possible.
The Lord Speaker, singly in the first place, took the oath.
Several noble Lords took the oath or made the solemn affirmation, and signed an undertaking to abide by the Code of Conduct.
After election to the Commons an MP must swear an Oath of Allegiance before taking their seat. While holding a copy of the New Testament (or, in the case of a Jew or Muslim, the Old Testament or the Koran) a Member swears: "I…..swear by Almighty God that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, her heirs and successors, according to law. So help me God." Members who object to oath swearing may make a Solemn Affirmation instead. Further information can be obtained from factsheet M7 at the UK Parliament site. The Oath of Allegiance must be taken, or Solemn Affirmation made, by every Lord, on Introduction and at the beginning of every new Parliament, before he or she can sit and vote in the House of Lords.
The Deputy speaker is in charge of proceedings of the House of Commons in the absence of the Speaker.
The deputy speaker's formal title is Chairman of Ways and Means, one of whose functions is to preside over the House of Commons when it is in a Committee of the Whole House.
The deputy speaker also presides over the Budget.
The Speaker is an MP who has been elected to act as Chairman during debates in the House of Commons. He or she is responsible for ensuring that the rules laid down by the House for the carrying out of its business are observed. It is the Speaker who calls MPs to speak, and maintains order in the House. He or she acts as the House's representative in its relations with outside bodies and the other elements of Parliament such as the Lords and the Monarch. The Speaker is also responsible for protecting the interests of minorities in the House. He or she must ensure that the holders of an opinion, however unpopular, are allowed to put across their view without undue obstruction. It is also the Speaker who reprimands, on behalf of the House, an MP brought to the Bar of the House. In the case of disobedience the Speaker can 'name' an MP which results in their suspension from the House for a period. The Speaker must be impartial in all matters. He or she is elected by MPs in the House of Commons but then ceases to be involved in party politics. All sides in the House rely on the Speaker's disinterest. Even after retirement a former Speaker will not take part in political issues. Taking on the office means losing close contact with old colleagues and keeping apart from all groups and interests, even avoiding using the House of Commons dining rooms or bars. The Speaker continues as a Member of Parliament dealing with constituent's letters and problems. By tradition other candidates from the major parties do not contest the Speaker's seat at a General Election. The Speakership dates back to 1377 when Sir Thomas Hungerford was appointed to the role. The title Speaker comes from the fact that the Speaker was the official spokesman of the House of Commons to the Monarch. In the early years of the office, several Speakers suffered violent deaths when they presented unwelcome news to the King. Further information can be obtained from factsheet M2 on the UK Parliament website.
