John Bercow has insisted he aims to be neutral over Brexit, likening his role as Speaker to that of a football referee and saying his hope is to give the Commons “freedom to breathe” on the issue.
While Bercow is unpopular with many Conservative MPs, especially after his occasionally personal interpretation of Commons procedures on Brexit, his handling of recent noisy debates has won him fans overseas.
Following glowing write-ups in European newspapers, and then the New York Times, Bercow told CNN his main aim had been to allow proper debate.
“It’s not for the Speaker, let’s say in the context of Brexit, to prescribe one route or another,” he said. “And I think the record shows that I’ve always been particularly keen to give a voice, for example, to minority, or dissident voices in the House of Commons rather than in any sense to side with the majority.”
The Speaker’s role “is sometimes just to stand up for the institution of the House of Commons and the principle of parliamentary democracy”, he argued.
“It is a concern that in grappling with the biggest current concern facing us – Brexit – no resolution of the matter has yet been attained. It is a concern, but it isn’t something the Speaker can determine. The Speaker can try to help the house to decide on such issues, and give it the freedom to breathe, if I can put it that way.”
Both the role – and the attendant lack of popularity – were reminiscent of being a referee, he said: “I’m a regular at my club with my son, a season-ticket holder at Arsenal. There are 60,000 people in the crowd, who think they know better than the referee.”
Bercow, who already had a mixed reputation among MPs given his tendency towards pugnacious pomposity, particularly enraged Tories with a determination to allow the Commons more of a say on Brexit; something critics, including Theresa May, argue has resulted in him flouting parliamentary conventions.
He also faces a potential investigation over historical complaints of bullying, allegations he vehemently denies.
In the interview, Bercow, who has pledged to stay in his role until Brexit is completed, noted that being the Speaker had been “a very perilous enterprise” over the centuries, with several having been executed: “That is to say, whatever else happens to me, I’m not likely to lose my head.”
