Speaker trades insults on his final day in the House
Brexiteer Tory lays into Bercow over ‘friendship’ with Keith Vaz and three hours of tributes
JOHN BERCOW was accused of “defending the indefensible” to the “fag end” of his tenure during a furious parliamentary row on his final day as Speaker of the House of Commons.
The fiery exchange came as MPS voted to suspend Labour MP Keith Vaz for six months, after the Standards
Committee found he had “expressed willingness” to buy cocaine for two male prostitutes.
When Tory Brexiteer Andrew Bridgen suggested that the Speaker could have acted earlier on the issue, the pair began to trade astonishing insults.
Matters began to bubble over when the Speaker, a friend of Mr Vaz, interrupted to urge Mr Bridgen to “show some sensitivity”, when describing his conduct as “beyond redemption”.
The ERG member retaliated, accusing Mr Bercow of “defending the indefensible” to the “fag end of your tenure” because of his “very close friendship” with Mr Vaz. There are fears Mr Vaz could serve just three days of a recommended six-month suspension from the House of Commons if he is reelected as a Labour MP. Mr Bridgen concluded: “The House can come to its own conclusions, the Standards Committee has come to its own conclusions and, Mr Speaker, the public will come to theirs.”
Mr Bercow retorted: “He can try to smear me. He will get the square root of nowhere.”
Later, Mr Bridgen told The Daily Telegraph: “He’s a bully, and I will not be bullied by people like him. It will be a breath of fresh air to have a new Speaker that conducts themselves in an unbiased and professional way.”
Despite Mr Vaz being formally suspended yesterday, Labour has still not come to a decision on whether to deselect him as a candidate in his Leicester East constituency, despite Diane Abbott, the shadow home secretary, yesterday calling on him to quit before the forthcoming general election.
She said: “I think he should consider his position. I think he himself should agree not to be a candidate.”
Meanwhile, Jacob Rees-mogg indicated there could be an investigation into Mr Bercow’s time as Speaker. The Commons Leader said: “There will be a debate about your term in office” – but he conceded that “now is not the time”.
But he added: “In the reverse of Marc Antony in relation to Caesar, I come not to bury you but to praise you.” However, Mr Bridgen accused the outgoing Speaker of “astonishing self-indulgence” as the tributes to him ran to almost three hours. The Conservative MP described the swan song, equivalent in time to that spent debating the Grenfell tragedy earlier in the week, as “highly unprofessional”. He said: “It makes us look self-indulgent. What we’re doing is congratulating someone simply for doing their job.”
In the flurry of tributes, some MPS suggested the outgoing Speaker should be made an archbishop, or given a place in the House of Lords.
Michael Fabricant, the Conservative backbencher, said Mr Bercow should be given the post of Archbishop of Lichfield in his retirement. The MP for the cathedral city said both the Archbishop of Canterbury and York were “overworked”, and that another post would help ease the pressure.
Barry Sheerman, Labour MP for Huddersfield, said it would be an “absolute insult to this House” if Mr Bercow did not receive a peerage. Angela Eagle, the Labour MP, urged the Government to elevate Mr Bercow to the Lords. She said: “I think there’s one place, Mr Speaker, still far too hidebound by tradition, that needs your open and reforming zeal.”
In 2001, this newspaper wrote of a political scandal that time has forgotten: “the noose appears to be tightening around Keith Vaz’s neck”. Eighteen years and several embarrassments later and Mr Vaz is still in Parliament: a living symbol of why people are sick of politics.
This week a standards watchdog said that the Leicester East MP had damaged the reputation of Parliament. In 2016, he invited two male prostitutes to his flat at 11.30pm and reportedly told them that his name was Jim and he was a washing machine salesman; there was evidence, the Parliamentary Commission concluded, that he had paid for sex and was willing to pay for cocaine.
Mr Vaz offered several explanations, ranging from amnesia to claiming that the men were “prospective decorators”, which the Commission called “ludicrous”. MPS agreed that he should be suspended from the Commons for six months. He ought not to be an MP at all.
Because a general election has been called, the suspension is now delayed – and, as of now, he is still in the running for his seat. Labour is finally set to withdraw the whip but the fate of his party membership is unclear, and he remains on the party’s governing NEC.
Why has Mr Vaz lasted this long in public life? He resigned as a minister in 2001, was suspended in 2002, named in the 2009 expenses scandal and now, even with this disgrace, Labour MPS express sorrow rather than anger. Speaking in the House yesterday, the Conservative MP Andrew Bridgen questioned the relationship between Mr Vaz and John Bercow, taking the glow off the Speaker’s farewell. His ability to survive certainly suggests something in our democratic system is broken.