House of Commons Speaker John Bercow is to resign from office and as an MP
Tenure as Speaker which began in 2009 has been marred with allegations of bullying and breaking constitutional conventions
Bercow has destroyed the institution of Speaker. He goes the way he operated: with partisanship, sentimentality and a billion words where one would do.
— Tim Stanley (@timothy_stanley) September 9, 2019Half the House rose to applaud Bercow. Half the House sat in silence. That’s his real legacy. Unclear whether the office will ever regain its reputation for impartiality.
— (((Dan Hodges))) (@DPJHodges) September 9, 2019A senior government source wishes Bercow well
— Alex Wickham (@alexwickham) September 9, 2019
“Bercow thinks he’ll walk away as a hero, when most people in the country don’t know who he is and those that do think he’s a nauseating ******. The man has been central to stopping Brexit - the nation won’t thank him.”What an arse.All of the MPs clapping John Bercow right now think he’s a complete arse. Every single one of them. Some of them just think he’s a complete arse who’s useful to them right now. But no one - absolutely no one - likes him.
— Julia Hartley-Brewer (@JuliaHB1) September 9, 2019
The damage he has done to such an important and respectable role as Speaker of the House of Commons is grave, and as Dan Hodges has said whether it ever regains its reputation for impartiality is the question. Bercow threw away rules because it suited his political agenda, instead of following convention. Then cried foul when the government prorogued. A massive hypocrite.
A Speaker we shouldn't care about or know about really, because that is what the role really is. But if you look at his announcement, half the House of Commons remained sitting while the other half were standing up clapping - it should be *everyone* clapping at the end of a Speaker's tenure, because if not then something is seriously wrong with impartiality.
I'm supporting current Deputy Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle who has announced his intention to stand. He seems fair, I have no idea of his opinions other than he was in the Labour Party before being Deputy Speaker and he seems a decent guy for the role.
The tradition is that the Speaker is usually granted a peerage... government sources are saying this Speaker ain't getting one.
Thoughts?