Will he EVER leave? Bercow will 'consider' staying on as Speaker due to election
JOHN Bercow could stay on to cover the period until the general election campaign begins, despite previously promising to stand down as Speaker of the House of Commons on October 31.
John Bercow forced to take over from Deputy Speaker
Mr Bercow – one of the most controversial figures to have held the post in modern history – was due to resign on Thursday, when the UK was originally scheduled to leave the EU. However, with a snap election scheduled for December 12, he has now suggested he could stay until Parliament is dissolved.
The decision will likely enrage Brexiteers, who say he has shown “scandalous” levels of support for Remainers in Parliament.
Mr Bercow had previously vowed to leave on Thursday, with MPs due to elect his replacement the following Monday.
The general election campaign, however, could force Mr Bercow to remain on for an extra few days or weeks.
The i paper reports some of the nine contenders are now pushing for the date of the secret ballot to be brought forward as early as tomorrow, to ensure Mr Bercow steps down in time.
Other candidates want the election to be postponed until after the December general election.
The speaker told MPs yesterday although he did not have the "slightest ambition to serve any longer", if the Commons asked the he would take the request "extremely seriously".
Sources told the paper Sir Lindsay Hoyle and Tory MP Shailesh Vara are pushing for the contest to be brought forward but Dame Eleanor Laing wants it to be postponed until after the general election.
Mr Bercow told MPs: "I made my announcement on September 9 and I meant it, I have not the slightest ambition to serve any longer than the close of business on Thursday.
“Having been a member of this place 22 years and Speaker as 10 I will do my duty - and if the House asks me to do as people have requested, of course I take that extremely seriously and as close to being an instruction as makes no difference.:”
He said the matter should not be resolved in the chamber at this time.
If the Speaker contest does go ahead on November 4 then the winner could only be in the chair for one day, before Parliament is dissolved at midnight on November 6.
Deputy Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle is widely considered to be the frontrunner for the job but a host of other MPs hope to win the influential role.
These include fellow Deputy Speaker Dame Eleanor Laing, former deputy Labour leader Harriet Harman and Labour MP Chris Bryant.
Although fans of the Speaker have praised his efforts to modernise the Commons, he has been blamed for letting pro-EU MPs derail the Prime Minister’s plan to leave the bloc on October 31.