John Bercow

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John Bercow
Bercow in 2018
Speaker of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom
In office
22 June 2009 – 4 November 2019
MonarchElizabeth II
Deputy
Preceded byMichael Martin
Succeeded byLindsay Hoyle
Shadow Secretary of State for International Development
In office
10 November 2003 – 8 September 2004
LeaderMichael Howard
Preceded byCaroline Spelman
Succeeded byAlan Duncan
Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury
In office
18 September 2001 – 23 July 2002
LeaderIain Duncan Smith
Preceded byOliver Letwin
Succeeded byHoward Flight
Member of Parliament
for Buckingham
In office
1 May 1997 – 4 November 2019
Preceded byGeorge Walden
Succeeded byGreg Smith
Chancellor of the University of Essex
Assumed office
22 July 2017
Vice ChancellorAnthony Forster
Preceded byShami Chakrabarti
Chancellor of the University of Bedfordshire
Assumed office
25 July 2014
Vice ChancellorBill Rammell
Preceded byThe Baroness Howells of St Davids
Member of Lambeth London Borough Council for St Leonard's ward
In office
1986–1990
Personal details
Born
John Simon Bercow

(1963-01-19) 19 January 1963 (age 61)
Edgware, Middlesex, England
Political partyLabour (2021–present)[1]
Other political
affiliations
Spouse(s)
Sally Illman (m. 2002)
Children3
Alma materUniversity of Essex (BA)
WebsiteOfficial website

John Simon Bercow (surname pronounce BER-COE; born 19 January 1963) is a British politician who was the Speaker of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom from 2009 through 2019. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for the constituency of Buckingham.

Biography[change | change source]

John Bercow was active in the Conservative Party from a young age and was a Conservative councillor, for Lambeth, from 1986 to 1990. He stood as a candidate to become an MP at the 1987 and 1992 General Elections but was not successful. At the 1997 General Election, Bercow was elected the Conservative MP for Buckingham. He served in the shadow cabinets of Iain Duncan Smith and Michael Howard.[3] After the Speaker Michael Martin resigned on 22 June 2009, Bercow was elected as the Speaker.[4]

Bercow is the first Jewish Speaker.[5] He is the first Speaker not to wear traditional court robes while presiding over the House of Commons.[6] But, along with tradition, Bercow does now display his coat of arms at Speaker's House.[7]

On 9 September 2019, Bercow told the House of Commons that he would stand down on 31 October, or at the next general election, whichever occurs first.[8] He officially left the office on 4 November 2019.[9]

In 2021, Bercow became a member of the Labour Party, saying that Boris Johnson's leadership was making his old party "reactionary, populist, nationalistic and sometimes even xenophobic".[10]

References[change | change source]

  1. 1.0 1.1 Helm, Toby (19 June 2021). "John Bercow defects to Labour with withering attack on Johnson". The Observer. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
  2. "10/01/2010". Westminster Hour. 10 January 2010. BBC Radio 4. Archived from the original on 23 December 2018. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
  3. Bercow Says He's Relieved to Quit U.K. Conservatives bloomberg.com, 26 June 2009
  4. "Election of the Speaker". News.parliament.uk. 21 April 2010. Archived from the original on 30 June 2009. Retrieved 30 November 2010.
  5. "British lawmakers elect first Jewish speaker". JTA. 23 June 2009. Retrieved 30 November 2010.
  6. Webster, Philip (24 June 2009). "Farewell to tights as new Speaker John Bercow presides over Commons". The Times. Retrieved 6 May 2010.
  7. Speaker Bercow's coat of arms
  8. "Commons Speaker Bercow to stand down". BBC News. BBC. 9 September 2019. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
  9. Manor of Northstead: John Bercow, Gov.uk, 4 November 2019. Retrieved 4 November 2019
  10. "John Bercow defects to Labour with withering attack on Johnson". the Guardian. 2021-06-19. Retrieved 2021-06-20.