No love lost: Bercow drops bid to join All England Club
As A young man, House of Commons speaker John Bercow’s 5ft 4in height prevented him from pursuing his passion for tennis.
But in recent years his political stature has helped make him a Wimbledon regular, where he is often to be seen quaffing Pimm’s in the Royal Box. Indeed so keen is Bercow to join the tennis elite, I can reveal he even made a bid to become a member of the All England Croquet And Lawn Tennis club.
But now I understand that Bercow’s, application has been quietly withdrawn after a hostile volley from some of the membership committee.
‘some members are so angry about his perceived anti-Brexit shenanigans it was made clear his application would not be looked on favourably,’ I’m told.
Last month, Bercow made a dramatic intervention in Parliament where he threatened to rip up the rulebook in a bid to prevent any illegal attempt by Prime Minister Boris Johnson to take the UK out of the EU without a deal on the October 31.
Despite his plans to stand down at the end of October, some lofty members of the All England club did not take kindly to his conduct.
The All England Club, known for its grass courts and strict all-white dress code, boasts one of the most exclusive memberships in the world, with just 400 members and a waiting list of up to 1,000. All wannabes must be proposed and seconded and approved by four existing members. Its membership is divided into five categories: full, life, honorary, temporary and junior temporary.
Among the 70 honorary members include the Duchess of Cambridge, who took over from the Queen as club patron in 2016, and two-time Wimbledon winner Andy Murray.
Bercow was a competitive tennis player and a qualified tennis coach. A fan of Roger Federer, he has written a book on 20 great male tennis players called Tennis Maestros. But it seems this has not been enough to make him a love match with the club.
A spokeswoman for the club tells me; ‘We don’t comment on membership or applications.’ Bercow’s office declined to comment.