Bercow’s wife Sally ‘lobbied Corbyn to send him to Lords’
JEREMY Corbyn made his surprise offer of a peerage to John Bercow after a personal appeal from the former Speaker’s wife Sally, it was claimed last night.
Mrs Bercow, a Labour supporter, privately urged Mr Corbyn to send her husband to the Lords because the Tories would refuse, Commons sources said. She is understood to have told the Labour leader that her husband fully deserved the peerage, which is traditionally offered to retiring Speakers.
But the claims came as sources close to the Lords’ appointment commission hinted it would oppose the nomination until bullying allegations filed by ex-Commons Clerk Lord Lisvane against the controversial former Speaker were resolved.
They also suggested that at the commission’s next scheduled meeting on February 11, it would block a separate Lords nomination by Mr Corbyn of his former aide Karie Murphy until a separate inquiry reported back on Labour’s handling of antisemitism complaints.
But last night, supporters of Mr Bercow angrily hit back. One said: ‘It would be quite outrageous on the back of accusation from the former Commons Clerk to deny the Speaker what he deserves.’
However, there were reports last night of more bullying allegations being filed against Mr Bercow, who has consistently denied such claims. It emerged that David Leakey, the former ‘Black Rod’ chief official in the Lords, was submitting a dossier about Mr Bercow’s behaviour – accusing him of ‘intolerable rudeness and explosive behaviour’.
Mr Corbyn sparked a row last week after the revelation that he – not the Prime Minister – had proposed Mr Bercow for a peerage. By convention, the governing party makes the proposal in recognition of a Speaker’s service.
But Brexiteer Tory MPs have urged Mr Johnson to deny him the honour as punishment for his alleged Remain and pro-Labour bias in the final year of his tenure.
Allies of Mr Bercow revealed last night that Labour ‘surprised’ Mr Bercow when he was asked if he was on the ‘Tory list’ of new peers due to be announced next month.
‘When he said, “Not that I’m aware of,” Corbyn’s office said they were happy to sacrifice one of theirs,’ said a source. But wellplaced Commons sources said Mrs Bercow had already privately approached the Labour leader.
One said: ‘It was when John was still Speaker but contemplating retirement, and he was aware the Tories wanted blood. Sally went to Jeremy and said how unfair it was that he was being victimised.’
Mrs Bercow could not be reached yesterday. Labour did not comment.