“Just because I’m a little chap it doesn’t mean I haven’t got a big ambition,” John Bercow once said. And so it proved true, as he became the 157th Speaker of the House of Commons in June 2009 at the age of 46.
Known for chastising MPs for behaving childishly in the chamber, warning that it is off-putting to the public, he has complained in a letter to the three party leaders about the “yobbery and public school twittishness” of politicians, particularly during PMQs. His outrage at their behaviour often manifests itself in the Speaker himself hollering across the Commons, and many – particularly backbench Tories – have been infuriated by his interjections.
- Reinvigorating Urgent Questions
- Parliament helpline
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- A new Education Centre
- Parliament creche
- Increasing outreach
- Reforming senior level recruitment
- Equality networks
- Allowing an extra amendment to the Queen’s Speech in 2013
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