Much erudite comment has been written over the last couple of days regarding the elevation of J S Bercow Esquire to the dignity of First Commoner in the land. I shall resist the obvious cheap shot.
Not that I am a fan of Mr Bercow. While I have never met him, nothing I have learned of him is endearing, although I am sure he loves his wife and small fluffy animals.
But every time I see or hear him, he reminds me of the odious speck at school who would frequently be seen emerging from the Head’s study, face a picture of smug self-satisfaction, having sneaked on one of his fellows. Perhaps his favourite small fluffy animal is a weasel.
Some might describe him as self-satisfied; an unattractive trait. His performance on Monday, during his speech and subsequently, did nothing to allay this perception. Conceit appeared to ooze from his pores. But perhaps that is just his manner and such judgement harsh.
There is no doubt that Mr Bercow is a trimmer. His weaving political voyage puts one in mind of a drunken sailor returning to his ship. But I do not believe his to be a random journey, since Mr Bercow is shrewd and calculating.
Like many small men his lack of stature is counterbalanced by the size of his ego. Knowing that his trimming would be unlikely to earn him advancement in his own party, and that crossing the floor would, at best, gain a shadow brief, perhaps he saw the Speaker’s chair as the only route to the advancement he believed he deserved.
Mr Bercow is of modest origins. He has that in common with some of the finest Speakers of recent years. But unlike them, he clearly has little regard for the dignity and history of his new position. He appears to typify the “me, now” generation and fails to understand that he is now the incumbent of a post that is steeped in tradition which he has a responsibility to uphold.
It is not his place to tear asunder that tradition on a personal whim. If he had a whiff of modesty or judgement about him he would at least have taken counsel from his Sovereign. But his performance on ITV last night showed not one whit of modesty, but an arrogant, abrupt school bully.
However, PMQs today brought some little cause for optimism. If he has the courage to translate into discipline his warning about trailing legislation in the media, entertaining times await. Mr Hain seems to think otherwise, and since flaunting the primacy of Parliament is so engrained in Labour’s psyche, it is likely we will enjoy the delight of a Minister before the Bar.
Labour’s contempt of Parliament in backing Bercow brought the politics of the schoolyard to our legislature. Infantile and puerile, their only aim was to score a cheap point. It is illuminating that only one of his 15 proposers came from his own party.
Mr Bercow is on probation. He has 11 months to prove that Parliament’s interests, not his own, dominate his agenda. He may confound his doubters, but I suspect that this leopard will remain very spotty.
The Conservative party should be very careful if they wish to remove Bercow once they gain power. They have lost much of their reputation as the nasty party, and talk of removing another Speaker might lose them ground.
They should play a long game; Mr Bercow will make it easy for them.
Not that I am a fan of Mr Bercow. While I have never met him, nothing I have learned of him is endearing, although I am sure he loves his wife and small fluffy animals.
But every time I see or hear him, he reminds me of the odious speck at school who would frequently be seen emerging from the Head’s study, face a picture of smug self-satisfaction, having sneaked on one of his fellows. Perhaps his favourite small fluffy animal is a weasel.
Some might describe him as self-satisfied; an unattractive trait. His performance on Monday, during his speech and subsequently, did nothing to allay this perception. Conceit appeared to ooze from his pores. But perhaps that is just his manner and such judgement harsh.
There is no doubt that Mr Bercow is a trimmer. His weaving political voyage puts one in mind of a drunken sailor returning to his ship. But I do not believe his to be a random journey, since Mr Bercow is shrewd and calculating.
Like many small men his lack of stature is counterbalanced by the size of his ego. Knowing that his trimming would be unlikely to earn him advancement in his own party, and that crossing the floor would, at best, gain a shadow brief, perhaps he saw the Speaker’s chair as the only route to the advancement he believed he deserved.
Mr Bercow is of modest origins. He has that in common with some of the finest Speakers of recent years. But unlike them, he clearly has little regard for the dignity and history of his new position. He appears to typify the “me, now” generation and fails to understand that he is now the incumbent of a post that is steeped in tradition which he has a responsibility to uphold.
It is not his place to tear asunder that tradition on a personal whim. If he had a whiff of modesty or judgement about him he would at least have taken counsel from his Sovereign. But his performance on ITV last night showed not one whit of modesty, but an arrogant, abrupt school bully.
However, PMQs today brought some little cause for optimism. If he has the courage to translate into discipline his warning about trailing legislation in the media, entertaining times await. Mr Hain seems to think otherwise, and since flaunting the primacy of Parliament is so engrained in Labour’s psyche, it is likely we will enjoy the delight of a Minister before the Bar.
Labour’s contempt of Parliament in backing Bercow brought the politics of the schoolyard to our legislature. Infantile and puerile, their only aim was to score a cheap point. It is illuminating that only one of his 15 proposers came from his own party.
Mr Bercow is on probation. He has 11 months to prove that Parliament’s interests, not his own, dominate his agenda. He may confound his doubters, but I suspect that this leopard will remain very spotty.
The Conservative party should be very careful if they wish to remove Bercow once they gain power. They have lost much of their reputation as the nasty party, and talk of removing another Speaker might lose them ground.
They should play a long game; Mr Bercow will make it easy for them.
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