Forum Topic

Bumptious Bercow Denied Peerage

Serves him right for his partial shenanigans. He continually bent the rules to try and thwart Brexit. This egotistical little man with the big mouth can now fade into obscurity. I only hope Boris doesn't cave in to precedent and eventually grant him one.

Sue Hammond ● 2509d12 Comments

What a ridiculous post, Sue. Full of small minded, petty, spite and displaying enormous ignorance about the role of the Speaker and their duties to ensure Parliament functions in accordance with the law, parliamentary procedure and fairness.Bercow was an exemplary speaker, obviously, detested by those MP’s that peddle lies and whose modus operandi is based on bluff and bluster.Hope the new speaker lives up to Bercow’s high standards. God know’s we are going to need him to perform.

Paul Doorly ● 2509d

"I only hope Boris doesn't cave in to precedent and eventually grant him one."Gosh, no."Boris Johnson has given his friend Zac Goldsmith a seat in the House of Lords so he can keep his ministerial job despite being ousted as an MP at the election.The prime minister ignored warnings that giving Goldsmith a peerage would “make an absolute joke of democracy” after he lost his Richmond Park seat to Liberal Democrat Sarah Olney.He will continue in his job as an environment and development minister. Goldsmith will be unpaid for the ministerial job but that he will be able to claim a day allowance from the Lords.It comes after Nicky Morgan was given a peerage so she could continue as culture secretary despite announcing in October she was quitting as an MP to spend more time with her family.Goldsmith is a friend of Johnson and his girlfriend Carrie Symonds, who has also worked as an advisor to the former Richmond Park MP.  Symonds campaigned for Goldsmith’s re-election and said she was “gutted” at his defeat, while Johnson backed the failed and controversial bid of his “good friend” to become London mayor in 2016, when Sadiq Khan was elected."(HuffPost 19/12/2019)

David Ainsworth ● 2509d

@Paul@PaulTypical superior, sneering Remainer retort, well done 👏🏻 you didn't let the side down lol.😹Sir Lyndsay Hoyle, when going through the selection process for the new Speaker, made a very deliberate point of stating that he would be totally impartial. All the candidates were interviewed on LBC and this issue was raised by all of them. That says it all.

Sue Hammond ● 2509d

@SueIt’s the role of the speaker to be impartial.Bercow just happened to be excellent at it and was not phased by those MP’s that attempted to bully and undermine him.(How long are you going to bang on with your ‘remainer’ this and ‘superior’ that guff? Any chance you could change the tape, your scattergun accusations are simply irrelevant and boring). Can’t you think of something else to say?

Paul Doorly ● 2509d

Perhaps it's time to reform the honours system and the House of Lords. Why would one want an honour considering the dubious and disagreeable characters who've been given honours in the past? They've become rather tarnished now we know the true nature of some recipients, and anyway why should business people, politicians, and others who've already received the glory and rewards for their achievements be given these as well? Reserve honours for voluntary and charity services, and perhaps those who've gone well beyong the call of duty in their service in routine jobs - and rename them; the "Empire" went after WWII and reference to it is distasteful to many in a modern, multicultural society. Abolish the House of Lords and replace it with a smaller upper house - the House if Representatives? - based on representatives elected on a non geographical PR system alongside some appointed experts who must be established, successful in the STEM, business or arts communities?

Michael Ixer ● 2508d

The final nail in the much abused and corrupt political honours system is the knighthood for the creator of the punitive and inflexible universal credit system. A petition against this award has almost 160,000 signatures so far. https://www.change.org/p/uk-government-and-parliament-we-object-to-iain-duncan-smith-receiving-a-knighthood

Jonathan Callaway ● 2508d

I have to take Sue's side here.  As a relative innocent to politics until this year and then spending hours watching BBC Parliament, I found it very interesting.I agree that Bercow obviously knows parliamentary law and was lauded for allowing backbenchers to have their say.  However, to my mind he was horribly partisan at times and that's nothing to do with sides or who bullied who.  Only my opinion, but I feel he brought partisan politics into the speakers role, which is completely unacceptable.

Bunny Payne ● 2508d

Bercow has not only been a partisan Speaker but also a potentially corrupt one. I remember an incident last year when he used Parliamentary Privilege to protect his good friend Keith Vaz. He managed to do this by preventing the BBC from obtaining information of allegations that Vaz had not followed the rules of the House, and also about his bullying towards staff.  How John Bercow keeps Keith Vaz's secrets - BBC Newshttps://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-46112355

Sue Hammond ● 2508d

John Bercow was a brilliant Speaker with the experience, strength and knowledge of procedures needed to stand up to so much of the bullying tactics we've recently seen in Parliament.  Here's wishing his successor the strength of character to do the same when the need arises.

Philippa Bond ● 2508d

Apart from Bercow himself, precisely which bullying tactics are you referring to Philippa?

Sue Hammond ● 2508d

Personally I'm not concerned whether Mr Bercow is given an honour or not. He's been paid to do his job and will get a pension, and no doubt will collect a few "consultancy" and director positions. What's possibly more interesting is Mr Goldsmith's position. He was voted out of the Commons by his constituents, presumably thet didn't think he was doing a good enough job, but then offered a position in the Lords and government by Johnson. So much for democracy and "power to the people"?

Michael Ixer ● 2508d

Yes, the way Goldsmith and Morgan have been slipped back into government via the House of Lords, is a real indication of how Johnson plans to operate and how much he cares one iota about the ‘will of the people’.Alongside his connections with Russian oligarchs and with Trump’s administration which should be investigated and fully disclosed. Similarly, his undeclared interests as London Mayor, namely Jennifer Arcuri and the thousands of pounds he gave her of our money. Etc etc etc.I think we are all aware of what Johnson is, the concern is, what state will the country be in after he’s finished.I just hope the institutions, and the opposition, are strong enough, and focussed enough, to push back hard.

Paul Doorly ● 2507d