John Bercow – denied a peerage by BoJo on his retirement – now joins Labour

John Bercow – denied a peerage by BoJo on his retirement – now joins Labour

Generally speaking Speakers do not take part in the political debate once they have retired. Generally speaking, as well they are elevated to the House of Lords on their retirement but that didn’t happen with BoJoj who over-ruled this long-standing precedent.

At the time just I wrote this was a petty minded move by BoJo that could come back to bite him.

Well tonight the Observer is reporting that Bercow is now a LAB member and he’s started going on the attack against BoJo and his government.

He says he regards today’s Conservative party as “reactionary, populist, nationalistic and sometimes even xenophobic” and there is little doubt we are going to hear a lot more from him.

Where Bercow is dangerous is that he can be a powerful speaker and his move comes at a time when questions are being raised about Johnson. This comes after a week when the current Speaker, Lindsay Hoyle, had to give the PM an unprecedented public rebuke for failing to follow established procedures.

Starmer’s Labour has been short of attack dogs. Expect Bercow to take on that role.

Mike Smithson

UPDATE: These are the markeThis market relates to whether the UK government re-introduces any legally enforceable restrictions on social contact in England related to the spread of coronavirus, following the legal end of restrictions on social contact (currently expected to take place on 19 July 2021). Examples may include, but are not limited to, the mandatory wearing of face masks on public transport or the closure of pubs/nightclubs. For the purposes of this market, restrictions will not include any regulations on international travel or any regulations related to self-isolation or quarantine. For the purposes of this market, ‘re-introduce’ does not require any restrictions to exactly replicate previous restrictions. If the UK government does not end restrictions on social contact in 2021, and thus could not ‘re-introduce’ restrictions, this market will be void. Dates in this market relate to when any restrictions come into force in England, rather than the date on which they are announced. All times and dates in this market are in UK time. Clarification (14 July 2021): This market refers to mandatory England-wide measures introduced by the UK government. Any measures that are introduced locally or by individual companies (e.g. Transport for London only) will not count towards the settlement of this market. Clarification (6 September 2021): If ‘vaccination passports’ are required for entry to nightclubs or other events, this market will be settled for yes, so long as the measure satisfies the other conditions in the market rules, i.e. that it is mandatory, implemented by the UK government, England-wide and legally enforceable. Clarification (12 October 2021): If vaccines become mandatory for people working in care homes at any point in 2021 (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/vaccination-of-people-working-or-deployed-in-care-homes-operational-guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-vaccination-of-people-working-or-deployed-in-care-homes-operational-guidance) this market will be settled for yes, so long as the measure satisfies the other conditions in the market rules, i.e. that it is mandatory, implemented by the UK government, England-wide and legally enforceable.

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