John Bercow banned from Parliament for life

I think the time lapse in reportage of bullying, harassment and abuse by victims is well documented and understood trisher. It can, as you well know, take survivors many years to open up about what happened to them and can be for a whole host of reasons. Maybe read up on the Me Too movement if you're still unclear.

It does seem a rather extreme punishment.

Bullying in the workplace is never acceptable but other politicians have been accused of bullying too and not been banned from Parliament.

Anyone else find it ironic that a man who certainly supported and upheld the traditions of parliament and insisted MPs respected them, is now denied entry.

I always thought he was rather a showman but at least he did seem to have some authority.
Order, Order!

It's the quality of evidence and the time lapse in the complaints I find questionable. If the committee had accepted some of Bercow's claims- that the post it notes miight have been added to, that there may have been collusion and certainly was discussion between the complainants it would still have been possible to find him guilty of bullying, but perhaps not enough to deny him a parliamentary pass.

Anyone else find it ironic that a man who certainly supported and upheld the traditions of parliament and insisted MPs respected them, is now denied entry. Whereas a man who has scorned, ignored, lied to and illegally prorogued parliament now occupies the highest seat in it?
"Curiouser and curiouser". said Alice

Still waiting for someone to explain about Priti Patel…..

Or call her jumped up…or “little”

Sauce for the goose and all that.

So you are suggesting, Redhead, people should have shouted and sworn back at Bercow, smashed their mobile phone, harangued him for fifteen minutes and thrown a tantrum because they considered themselves thwarted?

Maybe they should just have called him an odious little creep or a jumped up twerp. That seems to be the standard of debate today.

Or maybe its OK to do that on an anonymous social media site, because that's not really bullying and he asked for it?

I don't think it will ever be acceptable to set up a committee just for one person. Everyone should be treated in the same way and everyone found guilty punished in the same way.

You really cannot let your friends and allies go unpunished and then set up a special court to find your enemy guilty, then apply exceptional and extreme punishment. That makes us more like Russia than a democratic country.

Odious little creep with an embarrassment for a wife. Hope they both disappear over the horizon.

So you are suggesting, Redhead, people should have shouted and sworn back at Bercow, smashed their mobile phone, harangued him for fifteen minutes and thrown a tantrum because they considered themselves thwarted?

Then denied having done any of it ever?

I used to have some respect for Bercow because of the way he stuck by his dreadful wife after she humiliated him several times. A poster elsewhere suggests bullying in the workplace may be caused by deep personal unhappiness outside; this could explain, although not excuse, his behaviour.

I was interested but not surprised to hear on the news that he'd been found to be a bully but shocked to hear him called a liar! Somehow that felt much worse to me.

Redhead56

I cannot believe people can be sat in the most privileged seats in the UK and allow themselves to be bullied.
Give a bully as good as they give and they shrivel into the background what a bunch of wimps.

Bullying is a form of abuse, people who are bullied regularly, yes even adults, are made to feel inadequate, it causes depression and mental health problems. Bullies can be sly, or open, when you’re around them, it’s like walking on eggshells. This pompous overinflated bully has got his just desserts. Shame on you for belittling those who were bullied.

No idea Lucca, I have no interest in the stature, or lack of it, in Bercow; nor have I any interest in what Patel looks like or any other personal identifier. I simply loathe bullies who, having been proven that they are bullies, then fail to face up to their inadequacies of social skills and apologise for the distress they've caused to their victims. Patel will, at some point I suspect, be forced to confront her bullying behaviour and will face the consequences. All chickens come home to roost.

So why are the people who are calling JB these names care about her getting away with it ?

I don’t condone him at all let’s be clear.

No. She's just a workplace bully. Same as Bercow.

All those who are saying he has got what he deserved…if he is a bully absolutely that is right, but those who are saying that are not saying why Priti Patel gets away with the same sin ???

Is she a nasty little woman ? A jumped twerp ?

volver

DaisyAnne and Dickens, very good posts.

Agree. Rational posts.

I cannot believe people can be sat in the most privileged seats in the UK and allow themselves to be bullied.
Give a bully as good as they give and they shrivel into the background what a bunch of wimps.

That’s the thing, isn’t it? If parliament had a zero tolerance approach to bullying I’d be much happier than I am seeing Patel get away with it but Bercow sanctioned. On top of the parties and the oligarchs’ money, it just screams unfairness.

I think he was an excellent Speaker, but having seen him in several interviews, etc. I can well believe he is/was a bully. Pure hypocrisy for the same not to happen to PP.

One of the incidents in the report describes him as being bad tempered and not speaking to the complainant during a plane journey. He says he was annoyed with himself. I've known people like that. They sometimes weren't nice to be around but their anger was directed at themselves.

Bullying is defined as:
Offensive, intimidating, malicious or insulting
An abuse or misuse of power that undermines, humiliates, or causes physical or emotional harm to someone

The bullying might:

Be a regular pattern of behaviour or a one-off incident
Happen face-to-face, on social media, in emails or calls
Happen at work or in other work-related situations
Not always be obvious or noticed by others

Examples of bullying at work could include:

Someone has spread a malicious rumour about you
Someone keeps putting you down in meetings
Your boss keeps giving you a heavier workload than everyone else
Someone has put humiliating, offensive or threatening comments or photos on social media
Someone at the same or more junior level as you keeps undermining your authority

So, if Bercow or Patel, were angry at themselves they shouldn't be inflicting that anger on their colleagues for the duration of an 8 hour flight to Nairobi.

No one deserves to be bullied in their workplace and therefore if he has been found to have bullied staff, he must accept the consequences. As should anyone who bullies their staff.

Chewbacca

^I think he is probably a volatile and demanding man who uses bad language and shouts a lot.^
Is it bullying? I'm not certain.

It would be in my place of work.

One of the incidents in the report describes him as being bad tempered and not speaking to the complainant during a plane journey. He says he was annoyed with himself. I've known people like that. They sometimes weren't nice to be around but their anger was directed at themselves.

I think he is probably a volatile and demanding man who uses bad language and shouts a lot.
Is it bullying? I'm not certain.

It would be in my place of work.

The problem with bullies, no matter who they are or what position they hold, is that they never admit to what they are or apologise for the harm they've caused. It's irrelevant how long their victim waits to report what has been done to them; that delay can be caused for all manner of reasons (the same as victims of other abuses). If Bercow and Patel were big enough (nothing to do with physical stature) to at least admit to what they'd done and sincerely apologise to their victims, it may go some way to repairing their credibility and reputation.

Why did they wait so long is used time and time again against women in particular. I just dont want to play that game.

I am not defending him. I do question complaints that took over 10 years to be brought. I do question one complainant encouraging another to lodge a complaint. I do question post it notes, undated and stuck into a diary being regarded as made at the time of the incident and not afterwards. I do note that an employment tribunal requires a grievance complaint to be made within three months of the incident. And that none of these people chose that route.
It seems fairly obvious that what triggered the complaints was Jeremy Corbyn proposing him for a peerage.
I think he is probably a volatile and demanding man who uses bad language and shouts a lot. Is it bullying? I'm not certain.