Former speaker Bercow defects to Labour Party

John Bercow, the former Tory MP and Speaker of the House of Commons, has switched his political allegiances to join the Labour Party. Bercow, who stepped down as Speaker in 2019 after 10 years, said he regards today’s Conservative Party as ‘‘reactionary, populist, nationalistic and sometimes even xenophobic’’. He said he joined the Labour Party because he nowshares its values and sees it is as the only means to removing the current Tory government from office. ‘‘I ammotivated by support for equality, social justice and internationalism.’’