Conservative MP Jacob Rees-Mogg joined LBC’s Nick Ferrari to answer live questions from radio listeners. Jonathan from Plymouth asked a “great” question about how history would remember the outgoing Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow. Mr Rees-Mogg noted he had long been a supporter of Mr Bercow but had found that in the last year, the Speaker had “got it wrong”.

He said: “I think we need to look at Mr Bercow in the round and not just in his behaviour in the last year.

“I think he’s been a very important Speaker in helping backbenchers hold the Government to account.

“Urgent questions, the selection of amendments to bills and the use of emergency debates have had many successes in allowing.

“The Speaker helped me to help a constituent get a drug for battens disease by using every parliamentary mechanism to put pressure on the Government.”

The Tory MP continued: “That’s been very important because it has helped the House of Commons do its job.

“But there is a but, and Mr Speaker knows this.

“I’m not saying anything publicly that I haven’t told him.

“I think in the last year he has got it wrong.”

Mr Rees-Mogg added: “He has misunderstood Erskine May and the importance of convention and precedent.

“He has misunderstood the need to be seen to be impartial.

“And he has made statements outside Parliament giving his views of the state of affairs which he has no business doing.”

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He said: “The Speaker shouldn’t say anything out of Parliament other than describing how the House of Commons operates to school children or something very very uncontentious.

“So I am worried that the last year will damage the reputation he’s had for the good he did before.

“I think we need to look at his tenure in the round not just at the last year.”

When asked who he would support as Mr Bercow’s replacement, Mr Rees-Mogg remained quiet on the matter.

He said: “Being supported by any member of the Government would not be a good thing for that person but there are lots of great candidates with many different virtues.”

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