Britain to have its first lord speaker

LONDON, June 29 (UPI) -- Britain has broken with its 1,000-year tradition to elect the first lord speaker of the House of Lords in place of the better known lord chancellor.

The peers completed their balloting Wednesday to elect the person for the largely ceremonial job, but the winner among the nine candidates will not be known until the queen has been informed of the appointment and the lord speaker has taken his or her seat next Tuesday, reports the Independent.

The candidates' manifestos were limited to only 75 words and they were not allowed to openly campaign. The contestants pledged to do nothing to change the character of the house.

The lord speaker's job nonetheless holds considerable prestige and will earn the winner a salary of about $175,000 a year, plus about $60,000 in perks and another some $15,000 worth of ceremonial black and gold robes.