Speaker ‘will stay on’ to keep Government in line
JOHN Bercow’s parliamentary opponents voiced outrage yesterday after claims that the Speaker plans to stay on for another year to ensure Europhile MPs can challenge Brexit.
Mr Bercow has previously resisted pressure to stand down by June 22 – the deadline for the nine years that he said he would serve when he was first elected to the job by fellow MPs.
And yesterday it emerged that he had told friends he would stay until summer 2019 to stop the Government railroading an inexperienced successor into letting it force through Brexit proposals with insufficient scrutiny by MPs.
The Remain-voting Speaker is said to be determined to give MPs every chance to vote on amendments to crucial Brexit legislation. Brexiteers fear this could pave the way for votes on pro-EU MPs’ demands for a second referendum, a delay to “Brexit day” or a watered-down deal with Brussels. Conservative MP Andrew Bridgen, a long-standing critic of the Speaker, said: “Given his reported views on Brexit, I am very suspicious of his intention to serve another year. “It’s a bit like leaving a vampire in charge of a blood bank.” A spokeswoman for the Speaker’s office said: “The Speaker was elected by the House in 2017 for the course of the Parliament. “If he has anything to say on his future plans, he will make an announcement to the House first.”