Mr Speaker.

A man much in the news at present, but just where does the title come from? Because he takes no active part in debates, it has been said that the Speaker is the only member of the House of Commons who does not speak. But this misses the point - originally, he was the member chosen by the House to speak on their behalf when such occasions arose as demanded the opinion of the House to be expressed. The concept of the office can be traced back to the 13th century, but it was in 1376 that the post first became officially recognised. Back then it was a perilous position to hold, with a very good chance that you would end up in the Tower, or even being beheaded! There has only been one woman Speaker - Betty Boothroyd in the 90s, and the current Speaker is the first Roman Catholic to hold the post for the best part of 500 years - though not for much longer it would seem.