The Speaker of the House of Commons is the presiding officer of the House of Commons, the lower house and primary chamber of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The current speaker, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, was elected Speaker on 4 November 2019, following the retirement of John Bercow. Hoyle began his first full parliamentary term in the role on 17 December 2019, having been unanimously re-elected after the 2019 general election.
William Court Gully
Henry Addington in state robes. Portrait by John Singleton Copley.
Image: Official portrait of Rt Hon Sir Lindsay Hoyle MP crop 2
House of Lords
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The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest institutions in the world, its origins lie in the early 11th century and the emergence of bicameralism in the 13th century.
Queen Anne addressing the House of Lords, c. 1708–1714, by Peter Tillemans
An early 19th-century illustration showing the east wall of the House of Lords in the centre.
The rejection of the People's Budget, proposed by David Lloyd George (above), precipitated a political crisis in 1909.