John Bercow must rein it in — Parliament can’t afford to depose two Speakers in a row

John Bercow could go down as a great reforming Speaker of the House of Commons. It’s thanks to him, in large part, that the Commons chamber once again seems like the cockpit of the nation. But he now risks becoming the second successive Speaker to be ousted from his job. Even his friends admit that his inability to conceal his dislike for David Cameron and various Tory backbenchers has put his position in jeopardy.

Bercow is a contrast to his predecessor Michael Martin. He is razor sharp and confident in his own judgment. No one doubts his intellectual ability. But Bercow has a large number of detractors. He’s gone from being on the hard right of the Tory party to a darling of the Labour benches — and he has picked up many enemies on the way. But the trouble with Bercow is not so much his politics as his personality. He doesn’t suffer fools gladly and treats a lot of Tory MPs as if they were fools.

Nevertheless, Bercow has helped Parliament rediscover its purpose. As Speaker, he consistently calls the amendments which best test the government’s position. This approach, the Bercow doctrine, has made it far easier for Parliament to challenge the executive. Second, by granting so many urgent questions, he has ensured that ministers who have something to announce — or account for — come to the Commons to do so. They know that the choice they face is between making a statement or Bercow granting the opposition an urgent question and them being summoned to the chamber to answer it. Given that situation, most ministers choose to make a statement. Finally, he has upped the tempo of debate. By moving through the order paper at a pace, he has made it impossible for ministers to kill time by boring on in reply.