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John Bercow 'to stand down as Commons Speaker next summer' MPs disagree about asking John Bercow to quit over bullying row
(about 2 hours later)
The Commons Speaker, John Bercow, has told friends he will stand down next summer, the BBC has reported, defying calls for him to resign immediately in the wake of an inquiry into bullying and harassment in Westminster. MPs have traded blows in the Commons amid claims that a damning Westminster bullying inquiry was being used for political ends, as Speaker John Bercow hinted he would defy calls for him to quit before next summer.
The Speaker, who has denied accusations of bullying staff, had come under intense pressure from MPs after a damning report into Westminster’s workplace culture. Senior MPs called for the Speaker to resign immediately in the wake of the inquiry by Dame Laura Cox into sexual harassment and bullying in Westminster, in which she suggested that senior house staff would not command the confidence to pursue necessary changes.
Bercow had originally promised to retire after nine years in office, which would have seen him depart in the summer of 2018 but he had expressed a desire to see out the Brexit process. Bercow has denied allegations in a Newsnight investigation that he bullied his former private secretaries, Angus Sinclair and Kate Emms.
The Speaker had been keen to stress that he would stand down on his own terms. The Times reported in June (£) that Bercow had already begun making arrangements to move out of the Speaker’s house next summer in preparation for his departure. After the Cox report was published, the women and equalities committee chair, Maria Miller, and the departing chairman of the standards committee, Sir Kevin Barron, both called for Bercow to go.
A spokeswoman from the Speaker’s Office said Bercow had been elected for the duration of prliament and had not made any official announcement. “In the event he has anything to say on his future plans, he will make an announcement to the house first,” she said. The Speaker was reported to have told friends he will not resign before his intended departure date next summer, his 10th year in post, although he has given no public confirmation.
Earlier on Tuesday, Bercow called for bullying complaints to be investigated by an inquiry “entirely independent of and external to parliament”. Labour MP Kate Green, the new chair of parliament’s ethics watchdog, told the Guardian she would consider future complaints made against the Speaker but defended her decision in May to vote to block a formal investigation.
“Independence and transparency are the best guarantors of a process which will both be fair and command general confidence,” he added. MPs on the standards committee, including Green, voted three to two not to allow a formal investigation into Bercow, after a complaint by an MP. Her unopposed election as chair has come under criticism in light of that vote.
Maria Miller, who chairs the women and equalities committee, and the departing chairman of the standards committee, Sir Kevin Barron, had said he should resign in the wake of Dame Laura Cox’s 155-page report, published on Monday. “I do stand by my decision on that individual case, it was a difficult and finely balanced decision [as was] shown by the divided votes on the committee,” she said.
Cox said there was a tradition of “deference and silence” that “actively sought to cover up abusive conduct” and gave no protection to those reporting bullying or sexual harassment. “We weighed up different factors and judged whether the substance of the complaint meant it was right for an investigation to continue. It’s really important to understand investigating an individual allegation is a different matter to what Dame Laura is talking about, which is a systemic failure.”
“I find it difficult to envisage how the necessary changes can be successfully delivered, and the confidence of the staff restored, under the current senior house administration,” Cox said. Speaking in the Commons during an urgent question about the report, Bercow said he backed the creation of an “entirely independent of and external to parliament” body to examine future cases.
During an urgent question on Tuesday, several MPs criticised others for politicising the inquiry. “Independence and transparency are the best guarantors of a process which will be both be fair and command general confidence,” he said.
Conservative MPs who have long been critics of the Speaker spoke in the debate, including James Duddridge, who previously called for a vote of no confidence in Bercow because of his handling of Brexit. He said it was “a disturbing report of a number of unacceptable behaviours … How can we encourage Mr Speaker to stop this behaviour?” Miller told the Commons it was “clear that there needs to be a complete change in leadership at the most senior level, including you, Mr Speaker, as chief officer, if we are, in Dame Laura’s words, to press the reset button”.
The Green party MP, Caroline Lucas, said it was “not the time for members to indulge in bullying of their own; there should be independent processes, not innuendo”. During the debate, MPs urged parliamentary officials and ministers to take action, but many stopped short of criticising individuals. Others accused MPs of politicising the process, motivated by their dislike of Bercow’s handling of Brexit.
The Labour MP Ben Bradshaw said that during a febrile period in politics, MPs needed a Speaker who “stands up for backbenchers, stand[s] up for this house to an overmighty and overbearing executive who is prepared to drive through a Brexit that is intolerable”.
Commons leader Andrea Leadsom hit back at Bradshaw’s remarks, saying it was “not in the spirit” of the debate.
“I don’t understand why he feels the future of this great nation relies on one individual person, which what he seems to be suggesting,” she said. Bradshaw, who is pro-remain, later tweeted that her comment “reveals her true agenda”, a reference to Leadsom’s support for Brexit.
Several Conservative MPs who have long been critics of the Speaker also spoke in the debate. James Duddridge, who previously called for a vote of no confidence in Bercow, said it was “a disturbing report of a number of unacceptable behaviours … How can we encourage Mr Speaker to stop this behaviour?”
The Labour MP Jess Phillips said she was “totally and utterly maddened”, pointing at Duddridge, whom she called “neither right nor honourable”.The Labour MP Jess Phillips said she was “totally and utterly maddened”, pointing at Duddridge, whom she called “neither right nor honourable”.
“Some of us don’t actually care who is the offender; it is the victims we care about and we will not use it for political gain,” she said. “And nothing fills the victims with more dread than when people play with their feelings. You are speaking only for yourself. “Some of us don’t actually care who is the offender, it is the victims we care about, and we will not use it for political gain,” she said.
“I think the management of this place needs a massive overhaul, the fact of the matter is that nothing I have heard today fills me with confidence that politics will be taken out of this.” “I think the management of this place needs a massive overhaul, the fact of the matter is that nothing I have heard today fills me with confidence that politics will be taken out of this and that the same 12 people – and we all know exactly who they are and exactly how they are getting away with it – won’t just be walking around for the next 20 years.”
House of Commons Labour has hinted it will not back any efforts to remove Bercow. The shadow foreign secretary, Emily Thornberry, said it was “absolutely not the time to be changing speaker”.
Dave Penman, the general secretary of the civil service union FDA, expressed fury at the response saying Thornberry was “happy to ignore Dame Laura Cox’s urgent calls and put party politics before people”.
The union said it was writing to the party leaders to ask that they support the recommendations made by Cox and commit to implementing them without delay.
Green said she would not allow any political calculations to get in the way of any future investigations into individuals. “It is important complaints are taken seriously whatever the political context,” the MP said.
Bercow was reported to have told friends that he will stand down next summer, on his own terms. He had originally promised to retire after nine years in office, which would have been this summer, but he has since expressed a desire to see out the Brexit process.
A spokeswoman from the Speaker’s Office said Bercow had been elected for the duration of parliament and had not made any official announcement. “In the event he has anything to say on his future plans, he will make an announcement to the house first,” she said.
John BercowJohn Bercow
House of Commons
BullyingBullying
Sexual harassmentSexual harassment
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