House of Commons speaker surprises U.K. Parliament by stepping down
Parliament might soon get a bit more dis-orderly.
The United Kingdom's House of Commons Speaker John Bercow announced Monday he will step down from his post by Oct. 31, the current Brexit deadline, if no general election is called before then. In the unlikely scenario that there election before Oct. 31, Bercow will step down then. The "emotional" decision took members by surprise, Bloomberg reports.
Bercow said his 10 years serving as speaker was the "greatest honor and privilege." A former Conservative who gave Brexit opponents an opportunity to try to prevent a no-deal departure, Bercow reportedly received a standing ovation from the Labour benches after making the announcement, though most Conservatives remained seated.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
While he received a number of tributes following the announcement, Bercow's timing did garner some criticism. "Whatever people's view of him, we are in a very unstable situation and in desperate need of stability at the moment," former cabinet minister Rory Stewart said. "With an unwritten constitution the whole thing is so dependent on personality at the moment." Bloomberg reports the speaker's departure could be a blow for MPs working to stop a no-deal Brexit, as he was the authority who made time for them to take action.
One thing is for certain, though — Parliament will be less entertaining without Bercow's theatrics, particularly his penchant for yelling "order" when dueling MPs became too rowdy.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
-
Reddit IPO values social media site at $6.4 billion
Speed Read The company makes its public debut on the New York Stock Exchange
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Housing costs: the root of US economic malaise?
speed read Many voters are troubled by the housing affordability crisis
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Feds cap credit card late fees at $8
speed read The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau finalized a rule to save households an estimated $10 billion a year
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Immigration helped the US economy outpace peers
speed read The U.S. economy grew at an annualized rate of 3.2% last quarter
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
4-day workweek gets boost from UK study
Speed Read Following a six-month trial, the majority of participating British companies are still using the truncated schedule
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
US sues to block Kroger-Albertsons merger
Speed Read The Federal Trade Commission sued to block the $24.6 billion merger between the grocery giants
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Nvidia sees historic stock rise on AI chips success
Speed Read U.S. chipmaker Nvidia achieved the biggest one-day increase in value of any company in history
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
New York may seize Trump's assets for $450M penalty
Speed Read The former president likely owes $600 million from two civil judgments in New York
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published