Mr. Speaker's flat

[andytaylor]

over the last 40-odd years, the role of speaker was shared between the 2 main political parties - alternating between tory and labour. Micheal Martin's selection broke this as his predecessor, Betty Boothroyd, was also a former Labour MP.

On becoming speaker, individuals must leave their party so as to be seen as independent and disinterested. Martin has been criticised for his apparent Labour bias.