John Bercow has grabbed the headlines this morning with his pronouncement on Donald Trump’s state visit. But was he right to voice his opinions about the President? No, says the Daily Telegraph which claims that Bercow was only speaking for one person when he said Trump would not be welcome addressing MPs in Westminster Hall: himself. Instead, Bercow would do well to delve into the history books and remember the actions of speaker William Lenthall who faced down Charles I with the words:
‘I have neither eyes to see nor tongue to speak in this place but as the House is pleased to direct me.’
Yet instead of listening to his predecessor’s words of wisdom, Bercow has chosen to voice a ‘near hysterical rant’. In doing so, he has ‘greatly exceeded his authority,’ the Telegraph says. The paper goes on to accuse the Speaker of engaging in ‘adolescent gesture politics’ and also says Bercow ‘overreaches’ himself with the apparent thought that he represents not only the Commons but also the Lords too. Given that Bercow has already said he is planning on stepping down next year, it’s obvious that he is ‘thinking hard about his place in history’, says the Telegraph. Yet his hopes of a legacy painting him as a great Speaker is doomed. Instead, ‘he will go down in history as a Speaker whose arrogance and self-regard besmirched his great office’, the Telegraph concludes.
The Guardian disagrees with the criticism of John Bercow, saying that the Speaker is an example of what it suggests is a rare breed: a decent conservative. In criticising Trump for his apparent racism and sexism, Bercow wasn’t making a party political point, according to the Guardian. In fact, his statement was a ‘defence of the everyday decencies that underlie democracy’. Yesterday’s comments by Bercow put him in the spirit of Ken Clarke – another Tory not afraid to speak his mind, even when it may be unpopular – and Angela Merkel, who the Guardian praises for her ‘determination to do the right thing’. So instead of attacking Bercow, we should praise him, says the Guardian in its morning editorial. After all, we need people like John Bercow to speak up.
Bercow’s comments are a prime example of ‘virtue signalling’ for the Sun, which calls the speaker a ‘berk’ and claims that he was ‘out of order’ to speak his mind about Trump. The paper says that Bercow seems to have forgotten that his role requires him to be impartial. But instead of sticking to that remit, Bercow seems more keen on making ‘showboating stands against the leader of the free world.’. It’s also true, the Sun points out, that while the President has made several pronouncements which many have taken issue to, Parliament has hosted ‘world leaders far more oppressive than Trump’. Bercow, for one, would do well to remember that.
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