JOHN Bercow — who was joined by West Derbyshire MP Patrick McLoughlin — visited Queen Elizabeths Grammar School (QEGS), on Friday, speaking to a large group of students about the role of the Speaker, the significance of democracy and the effects of politics on peoples lives.
Mr Bercow, 47, spent around half-an-hour talking to the youngsters, before he spent another 30 minutes taking questions. The Speaker began by answering the question on everyone’s lips.
He said: “What prompts the Speaker of the House of Commons to come here? Why am I invading your school and your constituency, rather than my own Buckingham constituency this morning?”
Mr Bercow said that his job means that he has a lot of contact with senior MPs and he told Mr McLoughlin — who is the Conservative Party’s Chief Whip — that he has been visiting schools all across Great Britain to try and engage young children in politics. He said to the students ‘young people are our future.’
The Speaker then moved on to the history of his role, and was keen to dispel a myth prevalent in the British media about him being the shortest speaker in history.
He said: “I am a short man and there is nothing to be done about this situation. It has always been that way and I am completely untroubled by this.”
Mr Bercow pointed out that Sir John Bussy — the Speaker between 1393 and 1398 — was shorter, however, only after loosing his head for crimes of treason.
The Speaker wanted to let the QEGS pupils know that if they wanted to, there is nothing to stop them from having a career in politics.
He said: “If you think ‘what a lousy bunch’, ‘I don’t like any of them, they are not meeting my needs’, than I would be sorry, but I would say to you, think about this as a possibility of something you might want to do when you leave school.”
Former speaker Michael Martin stepped down last year, not long after the expenses scandal broke out. Mr Bercow was elected in June 2009, beating off a total of 10 candidates.
In 1997, Mr Bercow was elected as the MP for Buckingham. Before becoming Speaker, he was a member of the Conservative Party and served in the Shadow Cabinet under former Conservative leaders Iain Duncan Smith and Michael Howard.
In recent years, there have been persistent rumours that Mr Bercow intended to defect to the Labour Party, which he never did. The Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, announced that Mr Bercow had accepted an advisory role on the Government’s review of support for children with speech, language and communication special needs.
Generally, the Speaker is unopposed during a General Election; however, it has been revealed that some people will be standing against Mr Bercow, although Labour and the Liberal Democrats have said they will not contest the seat.
Mr Bercow explained to the students in Ashbourne this week that he does not agree politically with the people that will face him on election day.
Mr Bercow reminded the youngsters that he is a referee, ‘not a player’, and has to be seen as impartial.
In October, last year, Mr Bercow chaired the first UK Youth Parliament debate in the House of Commons where young politicians were given the chance to sit on the green seats and debate in the chamber.
Young people at QEGS were given an opportunity to put questions to the Speaker themselves.
Mr Bercow was asked, amongst other things, about potential changes to the voting system, former speaker Betty Boothroyd, politics becoming a popularity contest over policies, and the ‘level of rowdiness’ in the House of Commons.
Mr Bercow said, in his opinion that the level of noise had not got worse, but he would like to see back benchers views expressed more easily.
He said: “People don’t like it. I think the House of Commons has got to catch-up with the change in the mood.”
Overall, Mr Bercow was very open and upfront with his young audience; however, there was one question that we admitted he would not answer.
The Speaker was asked what he would do if he was not reselected at the General Election? He said he does not answer hypothetical questions.”
