Tories drop plot to oust Bercow … so he could remain Speaker until 2022

JOHN Bercow is likely to remain Commons Speaker until 2022 after Tory plotters dropped their bid to oust him.

The Commons Speaker (pictured) had been expected to face opposition after he announced his intention to go back on a pledge to step down next year.

But James Duddridge, the Tory MP who led a failed challenge against Mr Bercow earlier this year, said: ‘There is no love for Mr Bercow, but there is not an appetite to push it to a vote.

‘The country has more important battles to fight, backing the Prime Minister, delivering Brexit and growing the economy.’

Mr Bercow was last week reelected in Buckingham, with convention dictating that the main political parties do not stand candidates against the Speaker.

He is expected to be returned unopposed by MPs when they return to Parliament today.

He became Speaker in 200 and initially said he wanted to serve for nine years, but last month revealed his plan to cling on for the next five years.

He told Sky News that he was entitled to change his mind just as Theresa May had gone back on her promise not to call a snap election.

If he serves a full five-year term it would make him the longest serving Speaker since Edward Fitzroy, who held the office for 15 years from 1 28 to 1 43.

He has repeatedly faced accusations that he has failed in his duty of impartiality, including earlier this year when he boasted of backing Remain in the EU referendum.

When David Cameron was Prime Minister, he and the Speaker fell out repeatedly, with accusations of prejudice against the Government.