A Bercow intervention the Tories will like
James Forsyth 3:21pm
John Bercow will have the Commons sit in September if he is Speaker after the next election, reports the Evening Standard today. This will be welcome news to the Tory leadership. They are keen for parliament to be in session in September, if they win, for reasons both high and low.
The high-minded reason is that they think that Parliament sitting in September will help show that this new Parliament is different from its predecessor, more diligent and more focused on getting things done. The low one is that the Tories want to get as much done as possible before a new Labour leader is in place, the thinking is that Labour will not have a new leader until after Labour’s autumn conference.
Berocw’s relationship with the Tories remains uneasy. I suspect his fate turns on the size of the Tory majority. If it is small, Bercow will probably be gone. Cameron will need to throw some bones to the right and letting Edward Leigh challenge Bercow, which he is said to be keen to do, would be an easy thing to offer. If the Tory majority is big, I suspect Cameron will try and persuade the party to leave the Speaker in place, arguing that there are more important things to do.
Previous
charles hercock
December 18th, 2009 3:37pm Report this commentGiven the recent reports of his and his wifes cavorting he should be ditched on moral grounds
Sean O'Hare
December 18th, 2009 3:48pm Report this commentCould it be that the leadership is running scared of Nigel Farage's challenge? A UKIP MP for Buckingham would be one hell of a blow.
teledu
December 18th, 2009 4:01pm Report this commentWhy not get the over-rated, self-important, overpaid buggers to sit for 47 weeks per year? Or else pay them a part-time wage.
NickW
December 18th, 2009 4:31pm Report this commentWould Conservatives in Buckingham vote for labour Bercow?
Bercow's mind and his body are in two different parties, and it's the head that counts.
Tankus
December 18th, 2009 4:46pm Report this commentFarage to win, his wife's done him no favours
Verity
December 18th, 2009 4:48pm Report this commentWe will see.
Eric Hargreaves
December 18th, 2009 4:54pm Report this commentFarage has no chance of winning.
Bercow has a majority of over 18000 - you could put a blue rosette on a donkey and it would still win Buckingham!
Chuck Unsworth
December 18th, 2009 4:55pm Report this commentEdward Leigh has been absolutely superb in the Public Accounts Committee. He's a real asset, not standing for any nonsense from anyone, direct and notably incisive. He's also got pace and real experience to offer.
Bercow is no figurehead. He's more of a reasonably able clerk. His attempts to 'modernise' are futile and inept. He's not tough enough or consistent enough to be Speaker.
The stupidity of electing this wallflower to the position of Speaker is obvious. Nobody knows where they stand. He'll simply continue to be buffeted about by the Parliamentary winds, bending this way and that, and soon forgotten.
local local
December 18th, 2009 5:02pm Report this commentElect a new Speaker for each Parliament and retire the old one to the Lords.
Dorothy Wilson
December 18th, 2009 5:30pm Report this commentSean O'Hare: No, it wouldn't. Farage would be defeated at the following election.
Roger Sherrin
December 18th, 2009 5:37pm Report this commentWe are vastly over governed in this country. The less they sit the fewer laws will be paassed
PAUL GILBOY
December 18th, 2009 6:17pm Report this commentI think it can be safely assumed that UKIP will take his seat. Although he might make double figures in the vote if he has an extended family residing there.
Tanuki
December 18th, 2009 6:47pm Report this commentUs self-employed sole-traders are on-call 24x7x365 - if we're not there when a client calls, the coent doesn't call again.
I'd like to see MPs have to complete timesheets in 15-minute units, like I do. No timesheet, no client cost-centre/project-code, no pay!
Michael Booth
December 18th, 2009 7:56pm Report this commentThe thing is, do we want a Twat as speaker? No. of course not. But we have got one.
JohnAnt
December 18th, 2009 9:54pm Report this commentMore important things to do, certainly. Such as repealing Lisbon, drastically curbing spending, lowering taxes. But will Cameron do any of them?
2trueblue
December 18th, 2009 11:20pm Report this commentWe can only hope that the voters do the right thing, and rid us of this Berc.
Sam ARMSTRONG
December 18th, 2009 11:23pm Report this commentI hate this one possibly even more than Hattie Harperson
JohnAnt
December 19th, 2009 2:24pm Report this commentWell, with luck, by September Bercow himself will be sitting - in a local wine bar, drowning his sorrows.
Back to top