Keeping in Touch: Dan Poulter, MP
Page 31
In October the House of Commons held an important election. It didn’t get much
attention in the media and for anyone outside Westminster it would seem of little
importance.
The election was for one of the three positions as Deputy Speaker. The Deputy
Speakers are known by another name; the Principal Deputy Speaker is known as
the Chairman of Ways and Means and the remaining two Deputy Speakers are
known as the First Deputy Chairman of Ways and Means and the Second Deputy
Chairman of Ways and Means. My predecessor Baron Framlingham served with
distinction as Second Deputy Chairman of Ways and Means for many years.
The role of Speaker is vitally important, not just for overseeing debates in the
chamber of the House of Commons but in the running of the House of Commons. For example, he or she chairs the House of Commons Commission, a body
that appoints staff and determines their salaries.
Of course the role which most people know the Spea