The series of Speaker's Lectures were initiated by John Bercow, the Speaker of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, from 2011. To mark the centenary of the Parliament Act 1911, Bercow commissioned a series of 11 lectures throughout 2011 covering some of the main political figures of the century. Each lecture was given to an invited audience in Speaker's House and was recorded for broadcast on BBC Parliament. In 2012 Bercow instituted a new 11 lecture series on the subject of the 'Great Offices of State' (those of Chancellor of the Exchequer, Home Secretary and Foreign Secretary). In 2013 the lectures were on the subject of 'Parliaments and Parliamentarians', given by leading Parliamentarians who have experience of other legislatures. The 2014 series concentrated on individual policy areas.
The subjects were:
David Lloyd George by Lord Morgan, 11 JanuaryF. E. Smith by Sir Peter Tapsell MP, 1 FebruaryNancy Astor by Shirley Williams, 29 MarchSir Winston Churchill by Nicholas Soames MP, 26 AprilAneurin Bevan by Gordon Marsden MP, 17 MayEnoch Powell by Lord Norton of Louth, 14 JuneMichael Foot by Lord Kinnock, 12 JulyIain Macleod by Lord Hurd, 6 SeptemberRoy Jenkins by Lord Adonis, 25 OctoberMargaret Thatcher by John Whittingdale MP, 15 NovemberTony Benn by Tristram Hunt MP, 6 DecemberIn introducing the first lecture, Bercow noted that his assistant had spotted that there were 11 sitting Members who had served in one or more of these offices but had not been Prime Minister, and that all had accepted his invitation to give a lecture. The lecturers were:
Kenneth Clarke (Home Secretary 1992–93, Chancellor of the Exchequer 1993–97), 24 JanuaryAlistair Darling (Chancellor of the Exchequer 2007–10), 20 FebruaryTheresa May (Home Secretary since 2010), 26 MarchMalcolm Rifkind (Foreign Secretary 1995–97), 23 AprilDavid Blunkett (Home Secretary 2001–04), 15 MayDavid Miliband (Foreign Secretary 2007–10), 19 JuneJack Straw (Home Secretary 1997–2001, Foreign Secretary 2001–06), 15 JulyMargaret Beckett (Foreign Secretary 2006–07), 11 SeptemberGeorge Osborne (Chancellor of the Exchequer since 2010), 22 OctoberAlan Johnson (Home Secretary 2009–10), 5 NovemberWilliam Hague (Foreign Secretary since 2010), 18 DecemberParliaments and Parliamentarians lectures
The lecturers were:
Lord Alderdice (Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly 1998-2004), 29 JanuaryKeith Vaz MP on the Parliament of India, FebruaryLord Steel (Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament 1999-2003), 18 MarchLord Davies of Stamford on the National Assembly of France, AprilLord Boateng on the Parliament of South Africa, Parliament of Ghana and the Parliament of Somaliland, 20 MayLord Elis-Thomas (Presiding Officer of the National Assembly for Wales 1999–2011), 11 JuneGisela Stuart MP on the German Bundestag, 2 JulyBaroness Liddell of Coatdyke on the Parliament of Australia, 28 OctoberBaroness Nicholson of Winterbourne on the European Parliament, 10 DecemberBaroness Williams of Crosby on the United States Congress, 18 DecemberThe lectures and subjects are:
Lord Norton of Louth on Parliament and Political Parties, 21 JanuaryDame Tessa Jowell on Parliament and the Press, 25 FebruaryJohn Redwood on Parliament and Economic Policy, 18 MarchFrank Field on Parliament and Social Policy, 8 AprilSir Malcolm Rifkind on Parliament and Foreign Policy and War, MayTristram Hunt on Parliament and the Crown, JuneLord Heseltine on Parliament and Industrial Policy, 18 JuneHarriet Harman on Parliament and Equality, 8 JulySir Menzies Campbell on Parliament and Justice, SeptemberDavid Davis on Parliament and Liberty, 22 OctoberLord Hennessy on Parliament and the State, 18 NovemberSir Tony Baldry on Parliament and the Church, 16 DecemberThe 2015 series covered famous Parliamentarians from history.
William Hague on William Pitt the Younger, 13 January.Lord Hurd of Westwell on Benjamin Disraeli, 24 March.Lord Bew on Charles Stewart Parnell, 19 May.Kwasi Kwarteng on Lord Palmerston, 9 June.Lord Lexden on the Earl of Shaftesbury, 30 June.Lord Williams of Elvel on Harold Macmillan, 14 July.Sir Bill Cash on John Bright, 15 September.Jesse Norman on Edmund Burke, 27 October.Lord Norton of Louth on Eleanor Rathbone, 3 NovemberLord Cormack on William Wilberforce, 10 November.Tristram Hunt on John Pym, 8 December.