Bercow elected Speaker
By Ian Dunt
John Bercow has won the election to become the next Speaker of the House of Commons after an epic series of ballots.
The third and final ballot involved a two horse race between him and Sir George Young after all other candidates stood down.
During a well-attended afternoon of voting, candidates were dropped one-by-one, either for receiving less than five per cent of the vote, or for coming last.
But Mr Bercow’s highly-publicised campaign clearly paid off, with strong votes from the start, while Sir George launched an impressive last-minute fight back to stop Mr Bercow slipping into the position without a serious challenger.
After the second ballot, all other candidates finally gave way to allow the two men to go up against each other. But Mr Bercow won the vote by a relatively easy margin of 322 to 271.
SNP Westminster leader Angus Robertson said: “The SNP offer our congratulations and constructive support to the new Speaker.
“The election of a new Speaker comes at a crucial juncture for the Westminster system and John Bercow will have his work cut out in getting the House in order, and restoring public trust in parliament.”
Plaid Cymru’s Westminster leader, Elfyn Llwyd, said: “The Speaker will need to lead this institution with a firm hand to help us begin the task of rebuilding the public’s faith in politics.
“Change will not be immediate but must be implemented confidently. Clearing up the discredited state of affairs in Westminster is a big challenge and I, together with my Plaid colleagues, wish him all the best.”
Ironically, the biggest challenge he faced came from his own benches, who were disturbed by his popularity on the Labour benches.
As a very right wing youth, Mr Bercow moved slowly left-wards to the point where many commentators had expected him to defect to the government.
