By RAPHAEL G. SATTER – 1 day ago

LONDON (AP) — British lawmakers elected a new speaker of the House of Commons on Monday, part of a bid to put the political storm over their lavish taxpayer-funded expenses behind them.

Opposition lawmaker John Bercow was elected to replace former speaker Michael Martin, the first presiding officer forced out in more than 300 years.

Martin was blamed for failing to rein in an expense system that allowed parliamentarians to bill the public for a raft of expenses including pornographic movies, horse manure and repairs to tennis courts.

Details of the spending, published in The Daily Telegraph newspaper, outraged the public, forced the resignation of several lawmakers and threw British politics into turmoil.

The candidates vying for the top post promised to shake up the House, and Bercow — who was dragged into the speaker's chair in a ceremonial show of mock-reluctance to take the post — promised to deliver.

"We have faced quite the most testing times," Bercow told his colleagues after his election. "It has been a grueling experience. Many members feel very sore and very vulnerable but large sections of the public also feel angry and disappointed. We do have to reform."

Prime Minister Gordon Brown congratulated Bercow, telling him that lawmakers "have taken an important step in that process of change" and that the House was on the "path to renewal."

Bercow led his fellow members of parliament from the House of Commons to the House of Lords for the approbation ceremony, where he was formally given royal approval and confirmed as the country's 157th speaker.

The speaker must be an elected legislator for a political party, but once in office is supposed to be impartial and independent of government — unlike in the U.S., where the speaker of the House of Representatives is often a partisan advocate for the majority party.

Bercow said his new role demanded he "immediately and permanently to cast aside all of his or her previous political views."

"My commitment to this house is to be completely impartial as between members of one political party and another."

The British speaker, who has the use of a luxurious apartment inside Parliament, decides which lawmakers are called on to speak, can suspend those who break rules and represents the chamber in discussions with the monarch and the House of Lords.

Tasks include maintaining decorum — sometimes shouting "Order! Order!" — from a raised wooden chair that used to be used as a toilet, ensuring lengthy debates could continue without breaks.

Being elected speaker also ensures a generous pay rise and the use of a luxurious apartment inside Parliament.

Bercow will become the first Jewish speaker of the House of Commons. Martin, elected to the post in 2000, was the first Catholic speaker since the Reformation.

Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved

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