Brexit latest: Tories launch bid to oust Speaker John Bercow as Andrea Leadsom blasts him for 'breaking Parliament rules'

John Bercow is the MP for Buckingham
PA
Jacob Jarvis8 September 2019
WEST END FINAL

Get our award-winning daily news email featuring exclusive stories, opinion and expert analysis

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

Andrea Leadsom has confirmed the Tories will field a candidate to oppose John Bercow at the next election as she blasted the Speaker for what she branded a lack of impartiality.

Mrs Leadsom said her party will breach convention in running against Mr Bercow in Buckingham, despite major parties generally refraining from doing so.

She criticised the Speaker for allowing Standing Order Number 24 to be used for MPs to take over the Parliamentary timetable, stating he had not "just bent the rules, he has broken them".

The move allowed opposition MPs and rebel Tories to eventually pass a law blocking a no-deal Brexit, which the Government has said undermines its negotiating strategy.

Andrea Leadsom has called for an "impartial speaker"
EPA

"There are people in Parliament whose roles are to understand the British constitution, and to protect it. One of those is the Leader of the Commons, working in the ‘engine room’ of the legislative machine. Another is the Speaker," she wrote in the Mail on Sunday.

"The Speaker is the senior officer of the House of Commons, and its highest authority. A politically impartial, independent umpire of proceedings, the Speaker is in place to protect the constitution and oversee the behaviour of the House.

"As an MP, a Minister and a former Leader of the Commons, I fully respect and appreciate the role of the Speaker. But last week, the current Speaker failed us."

Mrs Leadsom, who is currently a Business Secretary, said the use of the standing order "wasn't appropriate for a motion" and said: "It was intended to ram through legislation for purely political motives.

"The use of Standing Order No 24 in this way will lead to the creation of bad laws.

"It ignores the Government’s right to govern, abuses emergency debates and in this case has put EU negotiations into the hands of the Opposition.

"It acts in complete disregard to the will of the people – not just on Brexit, but on whom they have chosen to govern them."

Following this she echoed the Prime Minister's calls for a general election and said she wanted to "bring back an impartial Speaker".

It is not the first time Mrs Leadsom and the Speaker have clashed, with the pair frequently not seeing eye to eye during her time as the Leader of the house.

John Bercow is MP for Buckingham and has been the Speaker since 2009.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in