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UK Speaker of the House to step down

John Bercow, the UK's House of Commons Speaker, famous for his bellowing cries of "Order!" during raucous debates, will quit on Oct 31, the same day Britain is due to leave the EU, after a decade in the position.

Bercow has played a pivotal role in the seemingly endless debates over Brexit. Bercow determines which amendments will be voted on and who will be called upon to speak, and uses his position to silence rabble-rousers and rule on questions of parliamentary procedure.

The constant haggling over Brexit, and the weakness of recent British governments, gave Bercow a platform to intervene on behalf of lawmakers who wanted to stand in the way of a no-deal Brexit. The government usually keeps a tight grip on what happens when in Parliament, but Bercow occasionally let lawmakers wrest control from the prime minister at crucial points in the Brexit debate.

Those who could replace Bercow include current deputy speakers Sir Lindsay Hoyle and Eleanor Laing, along with Labour MPs Harriet Harman and Chris Bryant, and Tory MP Sir Edward Leigh, who has already confirmed that he will stand.