Voting in a Tie
The Speaker usually does not vote. But if there is a tie vote, the Speaker must cast the deciding vote. This is called the "casting vote." By tradition, the Speaker votes in a way that allows for more debate. Or, if no more debate is possible, they vote to keep things as they are. For example, the Speaker would vote against a motion to end a debate quickly.
Tied votes are very rare because there are over 600 MPs. Since 1801, there have only been 50 tied votes. The last time a Speaker cast a tie-breaking vote was in 2019.
Other Important Jobs
The Speaker has several other roles for the House of Commons:
They represent the House to the King, the House of Lords, and other groups.
They can call Parliament back from a break during an emergency.
They approve new elections when an MP's seat becomes empty.
They decide if a bill is a "money bill," which means the House of Lords cannot block it.
They oversee the administration of the House. This includes hiring staff and managing the parts of the Palace of Westminster used by the Commons.
They lead committees that deal with parliamentary standards and election rules.
They are also in charge of the groups that redraw the boundaries of election areas.
The Speaker also continues to help the people in their local area, just like any other MP.
the seating arrangements
The seating arrangement in the house is reminiscent of choir stalls, the members of the cabinet sit on the front benches while opposition senior members sit directly opposite. The distance between the benches marked out on the floor in red lines, is exactly two sword lengths and one foot apart. Members are not allowed to cross these lines, thus ensuring that debates are kept orderly. In the centre of the floor stands the Table of the House, on which the mace is placed at the start of each parliamentary sitting; this is the Speaker's sceptre. The speaker of the house presides over sittings, keeping order.
There are just two rows of benches facing each other. There are the government benches on the left, where the MPs of the governing party is. On the right, there are the opposition benches. This physical division is emphasized by the table on the floor of the House between the two rows of benches. The Speakers Chair is also here. The Commons has no special place for people to stand when they are speaking. MPs simply stand up and speak from wherever they are sitting. Moreover, there are no desks. This makes it easy for the MPs to drift in and drift out of the room. The room itself is very small. In fact, there isn´t enough room for all the MPs. There are about 650 of them, but there is seating for fewer than 400. The ancient habits are preserved today in the many detailed rules and customs of procedure which all new MPs have to learn. The most noteceable of these is the rule that forbids MPs to adress one another by name.
The Speaker is the person who chairs and controls discussion in the House, decides which MP is going to speak next and makes sure that the rules of procedure are followed. It is a very important position. In fact, the Speaker is, officially, the second most important ´commoner´ (non-aristocrat) in the kingdom after the Prime Minister. Hundreds of years ago, it was the Speaker´s job to communicate the decisions of the Commons to the king (that is where the title Speaker comes from). Because the king was often very displeased with what the Commons had decided, this was not a pleasant task. As a result, nobody wanted the job. They had to be forced to take it. These days, the position is a much safer one, but the tradition of dragging an unwilling Speaker to the chair has remained. MPs in the House always address the Speaker as ´Mr Speaker´ or ´Madame Speaker´. Once a new speaker has been appointed, he or she agrees to give up all party politics and normally remains in the job for as long as he or she wants it.
Houses of Parliament: House of Lords - its functions, membership, what are the functions of the Lord Speaker?
In 2019, a seven-month enquiry by Naomi Ellenbogen QC found that one in five staff of the House Of Lords had experienced bullying or harassment which they did not report for fear of reprisals.
House Of Lords had created 117 new peers between entering office in May 2010 and leaving in July 2016, a faster rate of elevation than any PM in British history; at the same time his government had tried to reduce the House of Commons by 50, from 650 to 600 MPs.
The House Of Lords is larger than the Supreme People's Assembly of North Korea
House of Lords Reform Act 2014 made provision for members' resignation from the House, removal for non-attendance, and automatic expulsion upon conviction for a serious criminal offence .
Report in 2007 stated that many members of the House Of Lords do not attend regularly; the average daily attendance was around 408.