John Bercow revealed last month he is planning to stay on as Commons Speaker beyond the summer as it would not be “sensible to vacate the chair with major issues still to be resolved”. He had originally pledged to serve for nine years when elected as Speaker in 2009. However, he has yet to set out a departure date, despite frequent clashes with the Government over Brexit and a string of eurosceptic MPs eager to replace him.

Mr Bercow has often been accused of not respecting constitutional conventions and showing a pro-EU bias in his parliamentary decisions.

Speaking on his LBC show on Tuesday, Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage warned Mr Bercow will find a way to “unravel” the constitutional process that could prevent a no deal Brexit on October 31.

As calls from Brexiteers for his resignation grow louder, newly-resurfaced reports shed some light on how the Buckingham PM got the job in the first place.

Mr Bercow only became the House of Commons Speaker in 2009 after his predecessor, the late Michael Martin resigned from his post over the MPs’ expenses scandal.

Mr Martin told Parliament ten years ago: “In order that unity can be maintained, I have decided that I will relinquish the office of Speaker on June 21.”

That brief announcement made Mr Martin the first Speaker to be publicly forced to resign since John Trevor was forced out in 1695 after being caught accepting a bribe.

Senior MPs from all three main parties broke with centuries of tradition calling for the Speaker to step down.

Mr Martin, who died last year and whose gruff Glaswegian accent and shop steward’s style had earned him the nickname of “Gorbals Mick”, had been a controversial figure from the day of his appointment in 2000.

He was often accused of showing bias towards Labour in parliamentary debates and faced repeated questions over his expense claims, in particular the £1.7million refurbishment of his official residence in Parliament and a series of “official” trips to foreign destinations with his wife.

However, his downfall came with his opposition to the release of MPs expenses after the Freedom of Information Act.

His determination to use every possible legal argument to prevent the public finding out about what MPs had sent led to accusation he was complicit in a cover-up.

When the Daily Telegraph started publishing the explosive details of MPs’ expenses on May 8, calls for his resignation grew louder.

John Bercow was elected the new House of Commons Speaker the day after Mr Martin resigned.

Source: Read Full Article