The Right Honourable is an honorific style traditionally applied to certain persons and collective bodies in the United Kingdom, the former British Empire, and the Commonwealth of Nations. The term is predominantly used today as a style associated with the holding of certain senior public offices in the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand, and, to a lesser extent, Australia.
The Lord Chancellor, formally titled Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom. The lord chancellor is the minister of justice for England and Wales and the highest-ranking Great Officer of State in Scotland and England, nominally outranking the prime minister. The lord chancellor is appointed and dismissed by the sovereign on the advice of the prime minister. Prior to the union of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain, there were separate lord chancellors for the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland. Likewise, the Lordship of Ireland and its successor states maintained the office of lord chancellor of Ireland until the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922, whereupon the office was abolished.
The usher of the Black Rod is an official in the parliaments of several countries of the Commonwealth of Nations. The title is often shortened to Black Rod, and in some countries, formally known as Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod or Lady Usher of the Black Rod. The position originates in the House of Lords in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Equivalent positions exist in Australia, Canada and New Zealand.
The Speaker of the House of Commons is the presiding officer of the House of Commons, the lower house and primary chamber of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The current speaker, Lindsay Hoyle, was elected Speaker on 4 November 2019, following the retirement of John Bercow. Hoyle began his first full parliamentary term in the role on 17 December 2019, having been unanimously re-elected after the 2019 general election.
The Lords Commissioners are privy counsellors appointed by the monarch of the United Kingdom to exercise, on his or her behalf, certain functions relating to Parliament which would otherwise require the monarch's attendance at the Palace of Westminster. These include the opening and prorogation of Parliament, the confirmation of a newly elected Speaker of the House of Commons and the granting of royal assent. The Lords Commissioners are collectively known as the Royal Commission. The Royal Commission includes at least three—and usually five—Lords Commissioners. In current practice, the Lords Commissioners usually include the Lord Chancellor, the Archbishop of Canterbury, the leaders of the three major parties in the House of Lords, the convenor of the House of Lords Crossbenchers and the Lord Speaker. Occasionally there are substitutions if the normal commissioners are unavailable.
John Simon Bercow is a British former politician who served as Speaker of the House of Commons from 2009 to 2019, and Member of Parliament (MP) for Buckingham between 1997 and 2019. A member of the Conservative Party prior to becoming Speaker, he was the first MP since Selwyn Lloyd in 1971 to be elected Speaker without having been a Deputy Speaker. After resigning as Speaker in 2019 and opting not to seek re-election as MP for Buckingham in the 2019 general election, Bercow left Parliament. In 2021, he joined the Labour Party but was suspended in 2022.
Thomas Erskine May, 1st Baron Farnborough, was a British constitutional theorist and Clerk of the House of Commons during the Victorian era.
In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the Dukedom of Edinburgh awarded for life to Prince Edward in 2023, all life peerages conferred since 2009 have been created under the Life Peerages Act 1958 with the rank of baron and entitle their holders to sit and vote in the House of Lords, presuming they meet qualifications such as age and citizenship. The legitimate children of a life peer appointed under the Life Peerages Act 1958 are entitled to style themselves with the prefix "The Honourable", although they cannot inherit the peerage itself. Prior to 2009, life peers of baronial rank could also be so created under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876 for senior judges.
Sir James Philip Duddridge, is a British politician and former banker. A member of the Conservative Party, he served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Rochford and Southend East from 2005 to 2024. Duddridge previously held several ministerial positions under prime ministers David Cameron, Boris Johnson and Liz Truss.
The Clerk of the Parliaments is the chief clerk of the House of Lords in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The position has existed since at least 1315, and duties include preparing the minutes of Lords proceedings, advising on proper parliamentary procedure and pronouncing royal assent. Many of the Clerk's duties are now fulfilled by his deputies and the Clerk of the Parliaments' Office.
The clerk of the House of Commons is the chief executive of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and before 1707 in the House of Commons of England.
The Clerk of the Crown in Chancery in Great Britain is a senior civil servant who is the head of the Crown Office.
The 2009 election of the Speaker of the House of Commons occurred on 22 June 2009 following the resignation of Michael Martin as Speaker during the parliamentary expenses scandal. Martin was the first Speaker since Sir John Trevor in 1695 to be forced out of office. It was the first Speaker election since 11 May 2005, and the first contested election of a Speaker since 23 October 2000.
Robert James Rogers, Baron Lisvane,, FLSW is a British life peer and retired public servant. He served as Clerk of the House of Commons from October 2011 until August 2014.
Sir Donald William Limon, KCB was a British public servant who served as Clerk of the House of Commons from 1994 to 1997.
Sir Frederic William Metcalfe was a British public servant. He was a former Clerk of the House of Commons and first Speaker of the House of Representatives of Nigeria.
The election for the 158th Speaker of the House of Commons took place on 4 November 2019. Lindsay Hoyle was elected with 325 votes in the final ballot, out of a total of 540 votes cast.
Sir John Stuart Benger is a British civil servant. He has served as Master of St Catharine's College, Cambridge, since October 2023. He previously served as Clerk of the House of Commons, the principal constitutional adviser to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, and adviser on all its procedure and business, from 2019 to 2023.
The Crown Office in Chancery is a section of the Ministry of Justice. It has custody of the Great Seal of the Realm, and has certain administrative functions in connection with the courts and the judicial process, as well as functions relating to the electoral process for House of Commons elections, to the keeping of the Roll of the Peerage, and to the preparation of royal documents such as warrants required to pass under the royal sign-manual, fiats, letters patent, etc. In legal documents, the Crown Office refers to the office of the Clerk of the Crown in Chancery.
Thomas Goldsmith is a British parliamentary official. Since 2023, he has served as Clerk of the House of Commons, the principal constitutional adviser to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom.
