John Bercow has joined Labour - wow

I have always admired Bercow. Johnson and other Brexiteers despised him because he wouldn’t let them go blindly ahead and ignore parliament. Bercow just wanted to keep to the rules. I do hope he gets his peerage one day. He absolutely deserves it and Johnson behaved like a spoilt schoolboy when he refused it. But politics in general IMO, changed for the worst when firstly Ed Milliband beat his brother David in that leadership contest. Worse, when Corbyn won. I was a member of the Labour party then and had voted for Yvette Cooper. It seems to me that good and worthy MPs have been lost on both sides of the House. Johnson must be called out on his lies and Starmer must do more of this. Andy Burnham back in Parliament would be wonderful and there must be a place for Bercow. I fear for this country at the moment, especially with the possibility of Dido Queen of Carnage getting the NHS job.

One of the reasons the Tories hated him is because he knew the law and his job, which was to protect parliament from a bullying government.

He carried this out superbly.

Hes only doing it to get his name out there.
the bbc have him on their wish list for strictly this year at a highly inflated price. Silly man

Its not like any other former Tory politicians have made fools of themselves on Strictly.

Ed balls did very well and was likable at the same time
He even won celebrity bake off

I don`t think he has realised he has done the concervative party a big favour.

Lillie

Hes only doing it to get his name out there.
the bbc have him on their wish list for strictly this year at a highly inflated price. Silly man

So after the fact based comment on ensuring parliament was run properly - our only defence against an elective dictatorship - you come up with an unfounded opinion.

Well done. Bringing the level of debate down yet again.

Many posters are saying that it is unacceptable to make nasty personal comments about Bercow and I agree. However, I have frequently read the equally vile comments re Boris Johnson and his family on other threads by some of the very posters who are criticising others for their comments on Bercow. Hypocritical or what? As regards Bercow he should have been removed from the post of Speaker years ago. The Speaker is meant to be impartial and Bercow was clearly biased towards the Labour Party from the onset. He should never be given a seat in the Lords.

Strong criticism about Johnson's actions, lies and deceit, is not at all the same as vile comments about a person.

1. I agree with you about personal comments. Go and have a look at the Dido Harding thread.

2. The Speaker was impartial but Johnson, as we all know, doesn't like to be told what to do by somebody who knows the rules better than him, and who he considers to be his inferior.

3. Every past speaker has been given a seat in the lords. So not giving him one was spiteful and petty. Maybe Starmer will nominate him.

Every past speaker has been given a seat in the lords. So not giving him one was spiteful and petty. Maybe Starmer will nominate him.

I think that would be an extremely silly thing for Starmer to do. It would just pander to all the Bercow haters on here and out in the country who aren't prepared to believe that a person can have principles. I'd hope that Bercow doesn't actually give a monkeys about whether or not he's made a peer. Obvious indifference would just emphasise Johnson's petty vileness.

On the subject of name calling, Johnson's many, many faults and failings are very well known and very well documented, Fully available for people to make a judgement on and choose their descriptive language accordingly.

Bercow, Harding, not quite so much...

I alway thought alot of the bile was anti semitism and he has said he suffered it at the hands of his own party (at the time.)

theworriedwell

I alway thought alot of the bile was anti semitism and he has said he suffered it at the hands of his own party (at the time.)

Oh dear. He’s not going to get on well in the Labour Party then, is he?

Peasblossom

theworriedwell

I alway thought alot of the bile was anti semitism and he has said he suffered it at the hands of his own party (at the time.)

Oh dear. He’s not going to get on well in the Labour Party then, is he?

Oh, FGS. The Labour Party isn't anti-semitic. I don't think it ever really was...

As the leader of the party, Keir Starmer, has a Jewish wife and children I'm sure a new Jewish member won't be a big deal.

Having witnessed it in action, antisemitism was the over-riding reason I couldn’t vote Labour in the last election.

Whether Starmer can eradicate it I doubt. It’s just smouldering quietly.

Saying I don’t think it ever was us a real insult to those who were driven out of a party they had supported for years. Pretending it didn’t happen won’t make it less real.

All parties will have individuals with prejudices, pretending otherwise isn't helpful. Some Conservatives have issues with Islam and I think they also have issues with Judaism. It doesn't mean either party is a racist party, it means they have members who are human, shock horror.

It is more worrying when the leader says racist things and I think you will find that applies more to Mr Johnson than Sir Keir.

I don’t agree that it is the leader who counts. Leaders can be replaced quite easily.

A party is its members. And when it is not just an individual opinion but a deliberate coming together of a number of individuals to persecute and oust, then that is what the Party is doing. Not the individual.

Alegrias
But it was funny when Ann Widdecombe was on on Strictly wasn’t it?

It might be funny if Bercow was on Strictly

I thought she was funny but it did serve to make people think she was a good sport and then she went all a bit UKIP.

Peasblossom

I don’t agree that it is the leader who counts. Leaders can be replaced quite easily.

A party is its members. And when it is not just an individual opinion but a deliberate coming together of a number of individuals to persecute and oust, then that is what the Party is doing. Not the individual.

I suppose it depends on if you think a leader should lead? If the leader is making racist comments is that leading by example?

Yes, so she did! I’d forgotten that for a minute there.
Ed Balls was very good on Strictly though.

It might well be funny if Bercow was on Strictly. He’s not very tall. Would they find a small partner for him I wonder? I don’t think he’ll be on so we’ll never know.

Gwyneth

Many posters are saying that it is unacceptable to make nasty personal comments about Bercow and I agree. However, I have frequently read the equally vile comments re Boris Johnson and his family on other threads by some of the very posters who are criticising others for their comments on Bercow. Hypocritical or what? As regards Bercow he should have been removed from the post of Speaker years ago. The Speaker is meant to be impartial and Bercow was clearly biased towards the Labour Party from the onset. He should never be given a seat in the Lords.

I don't think these are the same thing. Johnson lies - fact. He has been dismissed from jobs for lying and this is pertinent to the job that he is doing. His immorality, basically knowing right from wrong has been pointed out - again pertinent to the job he is doing.

His cleverness in waffling has been pointed out too. Again true and again very pertinent in the way he uses waffle to excuse, mislead and cover what he intends to do.

In other words, these are tools that he uses. He is seen as an incompetent liar so we are not so surprised when he is found out in a lie. Vast swathes of the electorate have stopped questioning why he should be allowed to get away with lying in the first place.

We know he is a man who lacks a moral compass so the same vast swathes of the electorate have placed him in a separate category from those who are chucked when they "mishandle" the bill paying process or ask for donations and then reward the donar. When we had the Cash for Questions it ended with a resignation because it related to the job being done at the tim. As I said, he uses waffle and silly language so the same chunk of the electorate, let him attack parliaments place in our democracy, dismiss manifesto pledges and just charge ahead doing whatever he wants.

Having a go at Bercow because of the way he is made, his size, etc., - things he cannot change - is simply wrong and quite despicable. Having a go at him because he may go on Strictly is irrelevant as it will not affect any present role he has. If he has a character flaw that will stop him from functioning well and properly in any particular job he is doing at the moment it's certainly okay to say so but that has not been the bulk of the attacks on him.

kali2 many of the comments re the Prime Minister have been about his personal appearance as well as his political actions and some of these comments have been foul. Clearly you believe that some people are ‘fair game’ whilst others are not. Complete hypocrisy.