John Bercow Joins Labour

[bednobs]

hardly a surprise

[ichkeria]

He certainly gets up some people’s noses. All we need now is for Gary Lineker to join him and AB will be in meltdown

[youngmafbog]

Yes, when I saw this I though poor Sir Kier, thats all he needs.

Politicians do change sides though, it's nothing new. And lets face it we dont have a tory party anymore it New Tory with Bunter at the helm.

[ynnafymmi]

I thought Bercow was Jewish?Corbyn wont be happy thats for sure.

[anneasquith]

Why would anyone care if you don’t like him ?

[Jackdaw33]

His father was Jewish and his mother converted to Judaism. However he is non-religious.

[Ellipsis]

> Politicians do change sides though, it's nothing new

Yep, even Churchill as a Tory MP defected to the Liberals for 20 years in 1904.

[ynnafymmi]

@17.10.I know how you feel,youngy.An incomptent useless idiot in London,an incompetent useless idiot up here in Edinburgh.Are we Brits destined to be governed by a pair of eejits who would never,ever,ever get a real job if they didnt get involved in politics?

[Jackdaw33]

A rather unfair comparison, I feel. Boris is the victim of circumstances; he cannot do other than follow the 'experts', for if he does not and things go tits up then he is down the pan. La Sturgeon, on the other hand, is merely exploiting the situation for her own vainglory'; like Bercow, a munchkin with aspirations to be the Wizard.

[davebro]

Strangely I think that Covid has been a bit of a gift for Boris in that he has just followed scientific "advice" and hasn't really been tested on many other aspects of governance. PMs will take a little time to come to terms with the job so maybe his apprenticeship has been easier than some.

[naomi24]

Please tell me you’re joking, Dave. Covid AND Brexit? He’s served a tougher apprenticeship
than any other prime minister in modern times.

[tomus42]

Bercow never struck me as a Labour supporter, just a Tory that no-one else in the Tory party liked, so he spent his term as speaker doing his best to annoy them by being biased towards the opposition.

[ichkeria]

We’ve been through this ad nauseam but it was impossible for Bercow not to favour one side or the other in the last days of that Parliament. If he’d done the government’s bidding then the other side would hated him.
That Parliament came in for very hypocritical abuse from Brexiters who used it to try to force their own extreme version of Brexit. It’s like anything else: you hate it if you think it’s working against you.
I agree that if you are on the other side of the fence then he will seem to have an irritating way with him.
His being denied a peerage was just an example if the bitter mean-spirited spite that characterised the aftermath of the Brexit argument. Probably egged on by Mr Spite himself who his now venting his fury on Johnson and co.
Anyway Bercow-badgers can’t have it both ways: he can’t be a conniving Trotskyite disguised in blue all these years AND a sudden convert to Labour.
And all he’s done is joined the party. If he was after a peerage he isn’t going to get one now. He’d be more likely to get one from a future Tory prime minister

[Jackdaw33]

Apparently, when he was first elected Speaker under Labour, which went to an exhaustive ballot, he got only 3 votes from Tory MPs.

[tomus42]

Has he been denied a peerage against the usual protocol? If so I didn't realise that. Pathetic on the part of the govt, but joining Labour won't do anything other than to confirm to them they've done the right thing.

Appointed and inherited peerages need to go, but that's another discussion.

[Jackdaw33]

Traditionally on retirement Speakers were created a Viscount in the Dissolution honours list. Nowadays they are created life barons (non-hereditary). It is unusual for an ex-speaker not to receive the honour on leaving the Commons.

[JimF]

Perhaps he was offered an honour but turned it down to demonstrate his true Bennite socialist beliefs?

Ahem - I'll get me coat...