Bercow has made Parliament laughing stock, says PM

Christopher Hope

Asa Bennett

JOHN BERCOW has turned Parliament into a “laughing stock” for stopping MPS voting on the Government’s Brexit deal unless there are changes, Theresa May warned yesterday.

The comments came as an interview emerged from 20 years ago in which he suggested female MPS complained about sexism because they are “inadequate”.

The Prime Minister told her Cabinet that the Commons had set itself against the wishes of the people after the Speaker ruled that Mrs May’s deal would have to be reworked before MPS can vote on it again.

According to a report, Mrs May said: “The Speaker used to say it was Parliament versus the Government, now it’s Parliament versus the people. If we don’t deliver Brexit, people will never forgive us. Parliament is a laughing stock.”

The news came as it emerged Mr Bercow once said that complaints about sexism by women MPS were “a defence mechanism against their own inadequacy”.

In an interview with The Daily Telegraph in 1998, a year after the 1997 general election landslide delivered scores of female Labour MPS to the Commons, Mr Bercow said new Labour MPS “just don’t know how to behave”.

He said: “They think the institution should adjust to suit them, it doesn’t occur to them they should change to suit the institution”.

He added that complaints about sexism were “a defence mechanism against their own inadequacy. You don’t find the competent attractive ones like Yvette Cooper moaning on about sexism. Red-blooded Tories would refute that [Labour women are good-looking]. Labour women aren’t prettier than our lot. There’s no individuality, no flair, unlike our Ann Widdecombes”.

He also said: “A man in pursuit of a seat must be in search of a wife. The party must adjust to the reality that some candidates are single. They’re terrified of selecting someone gay.”

The controversy has fuelled calls for Mr Bercow to be replaced by a less controversial speaker. Friends of Dame Eleanor Laing – one of his deputies – said: “It is time for a speaker who respects the constitution and understands the law.”

Ms Cooper and Mr Bercow’s office were approached for comment.