Resumen de Canadian influences on the british speakership

Matthew Laban

• The office of Speaker of the United Kingdom House of Commons can trace its origins to 1258 when Peter de Montfort presided over �The Mad Parliament� of that year. In 1376, Peter de la Mare was elected as Parliament�s first official spokesman but it was the following year, in 1377, that Sir Thomas Hungerford was the first person to be given the title of Speaker. It is during much more recent history, the period since 1945, however, that this ancient office has undergone its greatest evolution. This article will chart that post-war development and look at how examples from the Canadian Speakership have played a part in shaping its counterpart at Westminster.