John Bercow defends decision to stay on as Speaker and suggests he will quit soon
2 min read
John Bercow has defended his decision to stay on as Commons Speaker - and dropped a fresh hint that he is preparing to step down soon.
In his first public comments on his role since opting to stay on beyond his promised nine-year stint in the job, Mr Bercow drew parallels with Theresa May's U-turn on calling a snap election in 2017.
And he told his local paper that he would not be staying on "much longer" as Speaker.
Speaking to the Buckingham and Winslow Advertiser: "If Theresa May can take a few weeks to change her mind about holding an election I can be forgiven for taking a few years to change my mind about staying on."
Mr Bercow took up post in 2009, and initially vowed to serve a nine-year term in the Speaker's chair.
But the Speaker, who has frequently drawn the ire of Conservative Eurosceptics and and Government ministers amid Parliament's highly-charged Brexit debates, has so far refused to set out a departure date.
A spokesperson for the Speaker said: “The Speaker was elected by the House in 2017 for the course of the Parliament.
"In the event he has anything to say on his future plans, he will make an announcement to the House first.”
Four MPs have already declared their intention to succeed Mr Bercow, with the SNP's Pete Wishart on Wednesday becoming the latest to throw his hat into the ring.
Conservative MP Sir Edward Leigh, Labour's Chris Bryant and the current deputy Speaker Eleanor Laing have already launched bids to take on the job.
Mr Wishart said he would make "substantial and far-reaching" reforms if chosen, including ditching the MPs' formal dress code and bringing in an electronic voting system to speed up Commons business.
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