General Discussion

mr715

(3,523 posts) Wed Mar 25, 2026, 10:50 PM Wednesday

DU's Opinion of British former Speaker Bercow

Piqued my interest.

Does anyone on DU have opinions of the former Speaker of Commons John Bercow? Former Conservative, and thorn in the side of Boris Johnson's government, he now is a reality TV star personality and an altogether fascinating persona.

He has some nasty scandals involving toxic/bullying workplace behavior, while actively championing a number of virtuous causes.

Anyone have any thoughts on the guy?

MR

3 replies

= new reply since forum marked as read

Highlight:

DU's Opinion of British former Speaker Bercow (Original Post) mr715 Wednesday OP

He's a Tory canetoad Wednesday #1

He is no longer a Tory. mr715 Wednesday #2

I was a regular viewer of PM Questions on Wednesdays during his tenure. BannonsLiver Wednesday #3

canetoad

(20,758 posts)

1. He's a Tory

Reply to mr715 (Original post)

Wed Mar 25, 2026, 10:54 PM

Wednesday

Which obviously counts against him but I found him extremely amusing in a Michael Dobbs, "House of Cards" way. I admire people with quick wit combined with a more than adequate vocabulary to express the same.

mr715

(3,523 posts)

2. He is no longer a Tory.

Reply to canetoad (Reply #1)

Wed Mar 25, 2026, 10:57 PM

Wednesday

I think he switched to Labour and Labour ditched him when he got in trouble over some spending scandals.

His politics have been dead center (or perhaps for American politics, center left).

And yes, he was always particularly gifted at acerbic and playful exchanges with his MPs. He did really, to me at least, exude authority and a bit of charm.

Very much a teacher in front of a classroom of rowdy students.

BannonsLiver

(20,569 posts)

3. I was a regular viewer of PM Questions on Wednesdays during his tenure.

Reply to mr715 (Original post)

Wed Mar 25, 2026, 11:32 PM

Wednesday

He didn’t like Trump. Had a few scandals of his own back in the day but I found him fascinating to watch. I don’t really care that he was a Tory. Any American that follows UK politics knows that for the most part, their conservatives are considerably less demented than our conservatives.

Reply to this discussion