ORDINE, ORDINE!
Shameless Bercow cashes in with Italian TV performance
JOHN Bercow has lined up a series of lucrative public engagements since standing down as Commons Speaker – including an appearance on Italian TV.
Asked to give an Italian rendition of ‘Order!’ – the Speaker’s watchword – he bellowed the word ‘Ordine’ twice.
Earlier in the programme, during a segment on tennis, Mr Bercow showed the audience a screenshot of Roger Federer on his phone, and yelled ‘Federer! Federer!’ in the same manner.
It came days after his general election night punditry on Sky News – for which he was reportedly paid £60,000 – when he again used the phrase.
Mr Bercow has wasted no time in launching a media and public speaking career since he stepped down from the Speaker’s Chair on October 31. He did not seek re-election as an MP.
He has signed up to the JLA celebrity after-dinner speaking agency that earns thousands of pounds a time for speeches by clients who also include Buzz Aldrin and Andre Agassi.
The top tier of the agency’s stars earn a minimum of £25,000 per appearance, although Mr Bercow is one of the only speakers listed without a fee band.
Former Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg is listed in the top AA band, former Tony Blair spin doctor Alastair Campbell is in the A band, earning £10,000 to £25,000 for an appearance, and Tory veteran Ken Clarke is in the B category, earning £5,000 to £10,000.
JLA describes Mr Bercow as ‘a seasoned raconteur with countless stories from the corridors of power’.
He has already had at least one after-dinner speaking engagement through JLA, for the US financial firm FTI Consulting.
He makes appearances under the title ‘Right Honourable John Bercow’, a title he can use as a lifelong member of the Privy Council.
Since his successor Sir Lindsay Hoyle was elected on November 4, Mr Bercow’s diary has been packed with speeches and international interviews to outlets including CNN and Catalan TV.
On November 15, he spoke at a business breakfast in County Kildare, Ireland, for an organisation which ‘offers support to people with concerns over Brexit’.
A fortnight later, on November 29, he appeared at a letting agency conference, called The Negotiator, on Park Lane in London.
On December 4, he was a keynote speaker at the Financial Times banking summit, alongside columnist Martin Wolf and finance executives.
The following day he made a speech at the annual reception of UK Cloud Ltd, a ‘cloud’ computing company, at the National Gallery in London. The day after that he was at the Bournemouth Hilton Hotel to deliver the closing speech at the Local Authority Pension Fund Forum. In mid-January Mr Bercow will attend The Alpine Symposium in Switzerland. Two days later he will be back in London – at an event in aid of The Clement James Centre charity. At the end of January he is billed to appear as a speaker at the Advertising Association conference. Other speakers include Google, Facebook, Channel 4 and ITV executives. Before stepping down, Mr Bercow said in August that it would leave ‘a bad taste’ if he were seen to profit from his time as Speaker. Last night JLA would not comment on behalf of itself or Mr Bercow on how much he makes from speaking, or if it organised his appearance on Italian TV.