Alfie, a First News junior reporter and My Way! campaigner, (see page 30) wrote to John Bercow, the Speaker of the House of Commons, to ask if he could find out more about his job. He was invited down to Speakers Chambers in Westminster to interview Mr Speaker…

Hello, Mr Speaker. Can you explain to the First News readers what your role is?

My role is to keep order in the House of Commons, to encourage people to take part and to ask their questions, watch over debates, and to try to cut down on the number of people who have to be excluded altogether as a result of bad behaviour. You could say I’m a bit like the referee of a football match, who has to do all of those things – keep order, make sure people play by the rules, encourage the free flow of play and try to avoid having to book people or send them off!

So how much do you speak in Parliament?

You may ask why is the Speaker called the Speaker because I don’t actually speak in debates – I just speak in order to chair the proceedings.

What’s the history of the Mr Speaker job?

The answer is that hundreds of years ago the Speaker was regarded as the King’s man. It was always a man until 20 years ago, when Betty Boothroyd became the first female Speaker. Now, after decades, I’m pleased to say that the Speaker is not the King or (now) the Queen’s man in Parliament. The Speaker doesn’t get told what to do by the Monarch, but the title the Speaker has remained.

I have seen your offices outside but what is the Speaker’s chambers?

The Speaker’s chambers is in the Speaker’s house. It consists of an office where I have people working for me on things that go on in the chamber, arranging meetings for me, and answering queries for members of Parliament. We have state rooms or public rooms where we can hold dinners and I hold a lot of receptions and parties sometimes for groups of people who work within Parliament. I also hold a lot of functions for charities, and they can come together in the lovely rooms and we can celebrate the work that they do.

What about the rest of the house?

The other part of the Speaker’s house is the apartment where my wife and I and our children live. My wife is away at the moment and the kids are out but, if they were around, you would probably hear them running around upstairs. Even though I am very old, my children are seven, five and three years of age.

Do you have to live here?

For the last 150 years, the Speaker has had the opportunity to live here and, the theory behind this, is the Speaker must be available at any time. You don’t have to live here but it’s sort of expected that you do, so we moved in here two years ago. The children like it, they have been given their official passes so they feel very important.

Have you ever been in the Speaker’s coach since you’ve been in the role?

No I haven’t. The Speaker’s coach has recently been renovated and restored and is about to feature in a museum, I think in the West Country. It is a grand coach and it is right that it should be preserved and displayed to the country. It doesn’t belong to me but it is the property of Parliament and I think if I started travelling around in a coach I’d be rather heavily criticised.

When you are in the House of Commons, lots of people stand up to say their point, but how do you choose who speaks next?

I have to go back and forth, from one side of the house to the other – that way you are showing that you’re giving each side a chance in turn and no one can say: “Oh, he picked Labour people three times in a row.”

What else do you have to consider?

I try to select people from different parts of the country, so I wouldn’t normally call say, two people from Wolverhampton in a row because there are lots of other areas of the country. Then I try to ensure that I get a bit of a mix between men and women. The women, on the whole, behave better in Parliament. They shout less and they shouldn’t lose out just because they aren’t always shouting “Look at me!”

I also try to get a mix of people from different generations, so, just as I remember to try to call some of the very senior or, if I may say so, quite elderly members, I try to remember to call the younger ones as well.

You’ve told me that there was a woman Speaker once before, would she be called Mr Speaker or Mrs Speaker?

Betty Boothryood was called Madam Speaker. It’s a very good question and, if there were a female Speaker, who was married, I think probably people would call her Mrs Speaker. My colleagues would respect the wishes of whoever the lady Speaker was though.

There is a lot of tradition surrounding the Speaker including the clothes – could you explain this to First News?

Traditionally the Speaker used to wear court dress, which is dress that you would wear if you were in the presence of royalty for example – it includes tights and buckled shoes and, historically, Speakers used to wear a wig.

So what do you wear?

Over the years tradition has changed and Speaker Boothroyd didn’t wear the wig and I decided not to wear the wig. I wear a morning coat which is quite smart and the state robe which is quite grand on the day of the opening of the Parliamentary session because the Queen comes, so it’s a mark of respect to her.

Have you worn it on other occasions?

When President Obama came to Parliament in May, I did wear the morning coat because it was a state occasion. However, when I’m chairing in the chamber I don’t wear the morning coat, I wear a business suit and a black gown. Although some people like the uniform, it does look very dated and very curious. Some young people have told me that the old uniform, the wig, was a barrier between Parliament and the public, and it seemed very strange. In my view, the role of Speaker isn’t about how you dress, it’s about how you do the job.

First News runs a campaign called My Way! It’s all about helping people understand learning difficulties. Would you help the campaign in any way?

I would, first of all, because it is a very worthwhile initiative and, secondly, I have myself had some track record in Parliament, before being elected Speaker, of talking about learning difficulties and special educational needs. Mainly because my wife and I discovered that our son is autistic and there’s nothing like the personal experience of discovering that somebody in your own family has got a need for motivating you to do something about it.

I’m dyslexic. What do you know about that?

I’m well aware of some distinguished people who have been, and are, dyslexic and, as long as you find strategies for coping with your dyslexia, there’s no reason on earth why you shouldn’t go on to achieve great things.

Thank you very much for your time, Mr Speaker!

Look out for our updates on the First News My Way! tour with Henry Winkler, which is kicking off on 15 October.