John Bercow

On 19 January 1963,{{cite news |author=Guardian staff |url=https://membership.theguardian.com/event/john-bercow-in-conversation-86799360223 |title=John Bercow in conversation |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=29 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200112194829/https://membership.theguardian.com/event/john-bercow-in-conversation-86799360223 |archive-date=12 January 2020 |url-status=dead}} John Bercow was born in Edgware, Middlesex, {{cite news |last=Cooke |first=Rachel |author-link=Rachel Cooke |date=10 November 2019 |title=John Bercow: 'I may be pompous and an irritant. But I am completely authentic' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/nov/10/john-bercow-interview-i-may-be-pompous-but-i-am-completely-authentic |work=The Guardian |access-date=4 August 2023}} the son of Brenda ({{nee}} Bailey) and Charles Bercow, a taxi driver.{{cite web |url=https://www.bbk.ac.uk/about-us/fellows/john-bercow |title=John Bercow, Oration at Birkbeck University of London |date=11 August 2020 |access-date=18 August 2021}} His father was born to a Jewish family and his mother converted to Judaism.{{cite web |url=http://www.examiner.co.uk/news/west-yorkshire-news/speaker-house-commons-john-bercow-8083693 |title=Speaker of House of Commons John Bercow lays out plans to build bridges between young people and parliament at special Huddersfield University lecture |first=Chloe |last=Glover |date=11 November 2014 |website=huddersfieldexaminer}}{{cite web |url=http://jewishnews.timesofisrael.com/jewish-news-meets-the-speaker-of-the-commons-john-bercow/ |title=Jewish News meets the Speaker of the Commons – John Bercow |website=The Times of Israel |date=19 June 2015 |access-date=19 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190510024732/http://jewishnews.timesofisrael.com/jewish-news-meets-the-speaker-of-the-commons-john-bercow/ |archive-date=10 May 2019 |url-status=live}}{{cite news |title=New Jewish ministers and the Miliband rivalry |first=Jessica |last=Elgot |work=The Jewish Chronicle|url=http://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/31823/new-jewish-ministers-and-miliband-rivalryc |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180922111743/https://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/31823/new-jewish-ministers-and-miliband-rivalry |archive-date=22 September 2018 |url-status=live}} His paternal grandparents were Jews who arrived in Britain from Romania in the early 20th century.{{cite news |last=Woolf |first=Marie |title=John Bercow: 'I have been to Sudan ... seen the poorest people on the planet. They need our help' |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/john-bercow-i-have-been-to-sudan-seen-the-poorest-people-on-the-planet-they-need-our-help-40110.html |url-status=live |work=The Independent |location=London |date=2 August 2004 |access-date=20 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170421095544/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/john-bercow-i-have-been-to-sudan-seen-the-poorest-people-on-the-planet-they-need-our-help-40110.html |archive-date=21 April 2017}}{{cite news |last=Rayner |first=Gordon |title=Speaker John Bercow called for 'assisted repatriation' of immigrants |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/conservative/5651054/Speaker-John-Bercow-called-for-assisted-repatriation-of-immigrants.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130421085014/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/conservative/5651054/Speaker-John-Bercow-called-for-assisted-repatriation-of-immigrants.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=21 April 2013 |work=The Daily Telegraph |location=London |date=26 June 2009 |access-date=29 June 2009}} Having settled in the UK, the family anglicised its surname from Berkowitz to Bercow.{{cite news |url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/british-house-speaker-john-bercow-on-his-brexit-role-a-1260659.html |title=British House Speaker Bercow on His Brexit Role |access-date=3 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403225523/http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/british-house-speaker-john-bercow-on-his-brexit-role-a-1260659.html |archive-date=3 April 2019 |url-status=live}} Bercow attended Frith Manor Primary School in Woodside Park, and Finchley Manorhill, a large comprehensive school in North Finchley. In his youth, Bercow was a successful junior tennis player, but was too short to turn professional.[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/diary/diary-norton-cool-on-claudia-show-2251227.html Diary: Norton cool on Claudia show] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170615180411/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/diary/diary-norton-cool-on-claudia-show-2251227.html |date=15 June 2017}}, The Independent, 2009{{citation |last=University of East Anglia |title=Charles Clarke in-conversation John Bercow {{!}} University of East Anglia (UEA) |date=1 December 2015 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7mXvQeTj08 |access-date=25 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191107225001/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7mXvQeTj08&gl=US&hl=en&has_verified=1&bpctr=9999999999 |archive-date=7 November 2019 |url-status=live}} In 1975 he appeared on the UK children's television series Crackerjack!.{{cite news |url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/hairy-debut-for-young-bercow-c8pgb6cqc |title=Hairy debut for young John Bercow |first=Patrick |last=Kidd |date=12 February 2019 |work=The Times |access-date=4 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191104170755/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/hairy-debut-for-young-bercow-c8pgb6cqc |archive-date=4 November 2019 |url-status=live}}

Bercow graduated with a first-class honours degree in government from the University of Essex in 1985.{{cite web |url=http://www.essex.ac.uk/events/event.aspx?e_id=613 |title=Essex graduate new speaker, Colchester Campus, Government, 23 June 2009 |publisher=University of Essex |date=23 June 2009 |access-date=30 November 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110608015110/http://www.essex.ac.uk/events/event.aspx?e_id=613 |archive-date=8 June 2011}} Anthony King, a professor at the university, has said about Bercow that "When he was a student here, he was very right-wing, pretty stroppy, and very good. He was an outstanding student." As a young activist, Bercow was a member of the right-wing Conservative Monday Club. He stood as a candidate for the club's national executive in 1981 with a manifesto calling for a programme of "assisted repatriation" of immigrants, and became secretary of its immigration and repatriation committee.{{cite news |last1=Rayner |first1=Gordon |last2=Bingham |first2=John |title=Speaker John Bercow called for 'assisted repatriation' of immigrants |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/conservative/5651054/Speaker-John-Bercow-called-for-assisted-repatriation-of-immigrants.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130421085014/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/conservative/5651054/Speaker-John-Bercow-called-for-assisted-repatriation-of-immigrants.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=21 April 2013 |work=The Daily Telegraph |location=London |date=10 July 2010 |access-date=11 July 2010}} However, at the age of 20 he left the club, citing the views of many of the club's members as his reason,{{cite news |last=Isaby |first=Jonathan |title=Profile: John Bercow |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/2396507.stm |url-status=live |publisher=BBC News |date=4 November 2002 |access-date=28 January 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060324215851/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/2396507.stm |archive-date=24 March 2006}} and has since then called his participation in the club "utter madness" and dismissed his views from that period as "bone headed".

After graduating from the University of Essex, Bercow was elected as the last national chairman of the Federation of Conservative Students (FCS), 1986–87. The FCS was then broken up by the chairman of the Conservative Party, Norman Tebbit, after one of its members had accused previous Tory PM Harold Macmillan of war crimes in extraditing Cossacks to the Soviet Union.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=yapWAAAAIBAJ&pg=4507,3865568 |title=Tories sue student editor over Macmillan war crimes charges |author=John Stevens |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |page=9 |date=21 August 1986}} Bercow attracted the attention of the Conservative leadership, and in 1987 he was appointed by Tebbit as vice-chairman of the Conservative Collegiate Forum (the successor organisation of the FCS) to head the campaign for student support in the run-up to the 1987 general election.

After a spell in merchant banking, Bercow joined the lobbying firm Rowland Sallingbury Casey (part of Saatchi & Saatchi) in 1988, becoming a board director within five years. With fellow Conservative Julian Lewis, Bercow ran an advanced speaking and campaigning course for over 10 years, which trained over 600 Conservatives (including several current MPs) in campaigning and communication techniques. He has also lectured in the United States to students of the Leadership Institute.[http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article6590638.ece John Bercow: Little Mr Turncoat in an awfully big chair]{{dead link|date=September 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}, The Sunday Times, 28 June 2009.

In 1986, Bercow was elected as a Conservative councillor in the London Borough of Lambeth and served for four years representing the Streatham, St Leonard's ward. In 1987, he was appointed the youngest deputy group leader in the United Kingdom.{{cite news |last=Wheeler |first=Brian |title=The John Bercow story |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8114399.stm |url-status=live |publisher=BBC News |date=24 June 2009 |access-date=30 November 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170829211602/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8114399.stm |archive-date=29 August 2017}}

In 1995, Bercow was appointed as a special adviser to the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Jonathan Aitken. Following Aitken's resignation to fight a libel action, Bercow served as a special adviser to the Secretary of State for National Heritage, Virginia Bottomley.

File:John Bercow Senate of Poland 02.JPG in 2010]]

Bercow was an unsuccessful Conservative candidate in the 1987 general election in Motherwell South, and again at the 1992 general election in Bristol South. In 1996 he paid £1,000 to charter a helicopter so that he could attend the selection meetings for two safe Conservative parliamentary seats on the same day – Buckingham and Surrey Heath – and was selected as the candidate for Buckingham. He has referred to the hiring of the helicopter as "the best £1,000 I have ever spent".

Bercow was first elected to parliament in the 1997 general election as the MP for Buckingham with a majority of 12,386. He then increased his majority at the 2001 general election being elected by a margin of 13,325 votes. He was re-elected at the 2005 general election with an again increased majority of 18,129.

Bercow devoted a notable portion of his maiden speech to praising former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher whom he called "the world's greatest living statesman."{{cite book |last1=Waller |first1=Robert |last2=Criddle |first2=Byron |title=Almanac of British Politics |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9mC7pEr0R6QC&dq=%22nasty+and+ineffectual+in+equal+quantity%22&pg=PA122 |date=1999 |publisher=Routledge |location=London |isbn=0-415-18541-6 |page=144 |edition=Sixth}} In 1999, the Almanac of British Politics described him as an "articulate, abrasive and waspish Commons performer" who Tony Blair had labelled as "nasty and ineffectual in equal quantity" for an attack he had made on Robin Cook.[https://books.google.com/books?id=Y9QWAQAAIAAJ&q=%22nasty+and+ineffectual+in+equal+quantity%22 Off Message: New Labour, New Sketches], Matthew Parris, Robson, 2001, p. 86.

Bercow rose quickly through the opposition's junior offices. He was appointed a frontbench spokesman for Education and Employment in June 1999, and then a frontbench spokesman for Home Affairs in July 2000, before being brought into the shadow cabinet in 2001 by the Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith. He served as Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury from September 2001 to July 2002, and as Shadow Spokesperson for Work and Pensions from July to November 2002. During this first spell on the front benches, Bercow publicly said that he did not think he was ruthless enough to reach the top of politics.Sam Coates, "Burning ambition of man who won in spite of his own party", The Times, 23 June 2009, p 6. In November 2002, when the Labour government introduced the Adoption and Children Act, which would allow unmarried gay and heterosexual couples to adopt children, Duncan Smith imposed a three-line whip requiring Conservative MPs to vote against the bill, rather than allowing a free vote. Arguing that it should be a free vote, Bercow defied the whips and voted with Labour, then resigned from the front bench.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/2396213.stm|title=Tory resigns over adoption vote |publisher=BBC News |date=4 November 2002 |access-date=24 November 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071215170908/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/2396213.stm |archive-date=15 December 2007 |url-status=live}} As a backbencher he was openly critical of Duncan Smith's leadership.{{citation needed|date=December 2018}}

In November 2003, the new Conservative leader Michael Howard appointed Bercow as Shadow Secretary of State for International Development. However, he went on to clash with Howard over taxes, immigration and Iraq,[https://web.archive.org/web/20101202103448/http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aKPpzn_RL0rA Bercow Says He's Relieved to Quit U.K. Conservatives] Bloomberg L.P., 26 June 2009 and was sacked from the front bench in September 2004 after telling Howard that Ann Widdecombe was right to have said that there was "something of the night about him".[https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2009/jun/22/john-bercow-profile Profile: Commons Speaker, John Bercow] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202151707/https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2009/jun/22/john-bercow-profile |date=2 February 2017}}, The Guardian, 22 June 2009 Bercow has a long-standing interest in Burma and frequently raised issues of democracy and genocide in the country.{{citation needed|date=June 2022}} In 2006, he was a patron of the Tory Reform Group.{{cite web |url=http://www.trg.org.uk/aaa/about_people.php |title=About People |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070208184224/http://www.trg.org.uk/aaa/about_people.php |archive-date=8 February 2007 |publisher=Tory Reform Group}} In 2001, he supported the ban on MPs becoming members of the Monday Club.{{cite news |title=Tory MPs resign from far-right club |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/uk_politics/1584463.stm |publisher=BBC News |date=7 October 2001 |access-date=24 November 2007}}

Bercow was formerly the treasurer of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Tribal Peoples,{{cite book |title=Dod's parliamentary companion |volume=178 |first1=Charles Roger |last1=Dod |author-link1=Charles Dod |first2=Robert Phipps |last2=Dod |publisher=Dod's Parliamentary Companion Ltd. |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-905702-89-6 |page=1025 }} an APPG composed of over 30 cross-party MPs which aims to raise parliamentary and public awareness of tribal peoples.{{cite web |url=http://www.appg-tribalpeoples.org.uk/ |title=All-Party Parliamentary Group for Tribal Peoples website |work=Appg-tribalpeoples.org.uk |access-date=30 November 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110429160752/http://www.appg-tribalpeoples.org.uk/ |archive-date=29 April 2011}}

Bercow won the Stonewall award for Politician of the Year in 2010 for his work to support equality for lesbian, gay and bisexual people.{{Cite web |url=http://www.lesbilicious.co.uk/ |title=Lesbilicious |access-date=9 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081025010524/http://www.lesbilicious.co.uk/ |archive-date=25 October 2008 |url-status=live}}{{cite web |title=Corrie, John Partridge, The Times, Martina Navratilova – Stonewall Award Winners |publisher=Stonewall |year=2010 |url=http://www.stonewall.org.uk/media/current_releases/4807.asp |access-date=10 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150310191815/http://www.stonewall.org.uk/media/current_releases/4807.asp |archive-date=10 March 2015 |url-status=dead}} Stonewall gave him a score of 100% for always voting for its position on gay equality issues in parliament between 2007 and 2009.{{Cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120726135924/http://stonewall.org.uk/documents/stonewall_mp_voting_records_2010_1.pdf |title=Stonewall MP Voting Records 2010 |url=http://www.stonewall.org.uk/documents/stonewall_mp_voting_records_2010_1.pdf |archive-date=26 July 2012}}

In 2005, Bercow won the Channel Four/Hansard Society Political Award for 'Opposition MP of the Year'. He said:

In addition to pursuing a wide variety of local issues, I have attempted to question, probe and scrutinise the Government in the House of Commons on important national and international topics which concern people. Over the last 12 months, I have constantly pressed the case for reform of world trade rules to give the poorest people on the planet a chance to sell their products and improve their quality of life. The plight of the people of Darfur, Western Sudan, has also been a regular theme. They have suffered too much for too long with too little done about the situation. I shall go on arguing for Britain to take the lead in the international community in seeking decisive action for peace and justice.{{cite news |url=http://www.buckinghamconservative.co.uk/ourmp_opposition.htm |title=Opposition MP of the Year for 2005 |publisher=Buckingham Conservative Association |date=8 February 2005 |access-date=24 November 2007}}{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}}{{better source needed|date=June 2022}}

Following the defection of Conservative MP Quentin Davies to the Labour Party in June 2007, there were persistent rumours that Bercow was likely to be the next Conservative MP to leave the party.{{cite news |url=http://conservativehome.blogs.com/torydiary/2007/07/bercow-defectio.html |title=Bercow defection is expected at time of maximum embarrassment |work=ConservativeHome.com |date=14 July 2007 |access-date=24 November 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927123235/http://conservativehome.blogs.com/torydiary/2007/07/bercow-defectio.html |archive-date=27 September 2011 |url-status=live}}

Bercow did not at that time defect to Labour, but in September 2007, accepted an advisory post on Gordon Brown's government's review of support for children with speech, language and communication special needs. The Conservative Party chairman, Caroline Spelman, confirmed that this appointment was with the consent of the Conservative Party.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6975708.stm |title=Mercer and Bercow to advise Brown |publisher=BBC News |date=3 September 2007 |access-date=24 November 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170905170145/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6975708.stm |archive-date=5 September 2017 |url-status=live}} Bercow had a long-term interest in this topic, as his son Oliver has been diagnosed with autism.{{cite web |url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200708/cmhansrd/cm080201/debtext/80201-0004.htm |title=House of Commons Hansard Debates for 1 Feb 2008 (pt 0004) |publisher=Parliament of the United Kingdom |date=1 February 2008 |access-date=30 November 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101015031445/http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200708/cmhansrd/cm080201/debtext/80201-0004.htm |archive-date=15 October 2010 |url-status=live}}

In 2008, Bercow was asked by Labour cabinet members Ed Balls and Alan Johnson to produce a substantial review of children and families affected by speech, language and communication needs (SLCN). After the report, the government pledged £52 million to raise the profile of SLCN within the education field. The review looks at the extreme consequences to which communication problems can lead; from initial frustration at not being able to express oneself, to bullying or being bullied at school, fewer job prospects and even a descent into criminality.{{cite web |url=http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/slcnaction/bercow-review.shtml |title=The Bercow Review |access-date=11 February 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100610094142/http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/slcnaction/bercow-review.shtml |archive-date=10 June 2010 }}{{cite book |last1=Bercow |first1=John |title=The Bercow Report |publisher=Department for Education (UK) |year=2008 |url=http://www.education.gov.uk/publications/standard/publicationdetail/page1/DCSF-00632-2008 |access-date=11 February 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110207134847/https://www.education.gov.uk/publications/standard/publicationDetail/Page1/DCSF-00632-2008 |archive-date=7 February 2011 |url-status=live }}

The interim report highlighted a number of core issues: that speech, language and communication are not only essential life skills but fundamental human rights; that early identification of problems and intervention is important to avoid social problems later on; and that the current system of treatment was patchy, i.e. there was a need for services to be continually provided for children and families from an early age.{{cite web |url=http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/pns/DisplayPN.cgi?pn_id=2008_0056 |title=Bercow Review: Speech, Language & Communication Services for Children and Young People Must Improve |access-date=11 February 2011 |publisher=Department for Children, Schools and Families |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101008190852/http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/pns/DisplayPN.cgi?pn_id=2008_0056 |archive-date=8 October 2010 |url-status=live }}{{cite book |last1=Bercow |first1=John |title=Bercow Review of Services for Children and Young people (0–19) with Speech, Language and Communication Needs – Interim Report |publisher=Department for Education (UK) |year=2008 |url=http://www.education.gov.uk/publications/standard/publicationdetail/page1/D16-7520-0308 |access-date=11 February 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110207172420/https://www.education.gov.uk/publications/standard/publicationDetail/Page1/D16-7520-0308 |archive-date=7 February 2011 |url-status=live }}

File:John Bercow visits the Senedd John Bercow yn ymweld â‘r Senedd 30 9 2009 (3973421573).jpg

During the 2009 expenses scandal, it was revealed that Bercow changed the designation of his second home on more than one occasion – meaning that he avoided paying capital gains tax on the sale of two properties. He also claimed just under £1,000 to hire an accountant to fill in his tax returns. Bercow denied any wrongdoing, but agreed to pay £6,508 plus VAT to cover any tax that he may have had to pay to HM Revenue and Customs.{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mps-expenses/5606352/Speaker-election-John-Bercows-expenses-claims-back-in-spotlight.html|work=The Daily Telegraph|title=Speaker election: John Bercow's expenses claims back in spotlight|first=Gordon|last=Rayner|date=23 June 2009|access-date=6 May 2010|location=London|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100430161543/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mps-expenses/5606352/Speaker-election-John-Bercows-expenses-claims-back-in-spotlight.html|archive-date=30 April 2010|url-status=live}}

It was revealed in 2014 that the House of Commons authorities had destroyed all evidence of MPs' expenses claims prior to 2010. Bercow faced accusations that he had presided over what had been dubbed a "fresh cover-up" of the expenses scandal.[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mps-expenses/11204405/MPs-to-escape-expenses-investigations-after-paperwork-destroyed-by-Parliament.html MPs to escape expenses investigations after paperwork destroyed by Parliament] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180327051420/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mps-expenses/11204405/MPs-to-escape-expenses-investigations-after-paperwork-destroyed-by-Parliament.html |date=27 March 2018 }}, Matthew Holehouse, The Daily Telegraph, 20 November 2014

In July 2015, Bercow was again criticised for the amount of his expenses, including a claim of £172 for a {{convert|0.7|mile|adj=on}} chauffeur-driven journey. Andy Silvester, campaign director at the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: "This is an obscene waste of money and shows appalling judgment from whoever made the arrangements."{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mps-expenses/conservative-mps-expenses/11760106/Speaker-John-Bercow-claims-172-for-0.7-mile-journey.html |location=London |work=The Daily Telegraph |first=Michael |last=Wilkinson |title=George Osborne's deputy slams John Bercow for claiming £172 for 0.7-mile journey |date=24 July 2015 |access-date=2 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170730231616/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mps-expenses/conservative-mps-expenses/11760106/Speaker-John-Bercow-claims-172-for-0.7-mile-journey.html |archive-date=30 July 2017 |url-status=live }}

Bercow has supported a number of charities. He has been a patron of the ME Association,{{cite web |url=https://meassociation.org.uk/2007/02/new-patron-for-the-me-association/ |title=New patron for the ME Association | the ME Association |date=27 February 2007 }} Brain Tumour Research{{cite web|url=https://www.braintumourresearch.org/about/our-patrons-celebs/john-bercow|access-date=20 June 2022|title=John Bercow|archive-date=15 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190115234305/https://www.braintumourresearch.org/about/our-patrons-celebs/john-bercow|url-status=dead}} and a patron of the Patchwork Foundation, which promotes the positive integration of disadvantaged and minority communities into British democracy and civil society and which was founded by Harris Bokhari.{{cite web|url=https://patchworkfoundation.org.uk/about/our-people/patrons/|title=Patrons|date=16 October 2018|publisher=Patchwork Foundation|access-date=15 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190114212018/https://patchworkfoundation.org.uk/about/our-people/patrons/|archive-date=14 January 2019|url-status=live}} He also spoken at a fundraising event for the mental health charity Jami.{{Cite web |url=https://www.thejc.com/community/community-news/bercow-backing-jami-s-aid-work-1.51424 |title=Bercow backing Jami's aid work |date=9 December 2013|access-date=15 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190115182450/https://www.thejc.com/community/community-news/bercow-backing-jami-s-aid-work-1.51424 |archive-date=15 January 2019 |url-status=live }} In 2018, Bercow supported a fundraiser for Children in Need.{{cite news |url=http://www.stratford-herald.com/93834-commons-speaker-john-bercow-lends-backhand-stratford-charity.html |title=Commons speaker John Bercow lends a backhand to Stratford charity |work=Stratford Herald |date=10 December 2018 |access-date=21 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190115182630/http://www.stratford-herald.com/93834-commons-speaker-john-bercow-lends-backhand-stratford-charity.html |archive-date=15 January 2019 |url-status=live }}

File:John Bercow Speaker's Chair.png

Bercow had long campaigned quietly to become Speaker{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/simon-carr/the-sketch-bercow-makes-a-play-for-the-big-chair-789345.html |work=The Independent |title=The Sketch: Bercow makes a play for the big chair |first=Simon |last=Carr |date=29 February 2008 |access-date=6 May 2010 |location=London}} and was touted as a successor to Michael Martin. On 20 May 2009, he officially declared to stand in the speakership election, which had been triggered by Martin's resignation and launched his manifesto for the job.{{cite news |first1=Nicholas |last1=Watt |title=John Bercow says he is ready for the Speaker's role |work=The Guardian |location=UK |date=20 May 2009 |access-date=20 May 2009 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2009/may/20/commons-speaker-michael-martin-john-bercow |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140219051755/http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2009/may/20/commons-speaker-michael-martin-john-bercow |archive-date=19 February 2014 |url-status=live}} In reference to his decision to stand, Bercow said: "I wanted it because I felt that there was a task to be undertaken and that's about strengthening backbench involvement and opportunity in parliament, and helping parliament get off its knees and recognise that it isn't just there as a rubber-stamping operation for the government of the day, and as necessary and appropriate to contradict and expose the government of the day."{{cite news |last=Jowit |first=Juliette |title=Guardian.co Bercow defends his record |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2012/aug/14/john-bercow-defends-record-speaker |access-date=23 August 2012 |work=The Guardian |date=14 August 2012 |location=London |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140920045338/http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2012/aug/14/john-bercow-defends-record-speaker |archive-date=20 September 2014 |url-status=live}}

In the first round of the election on 22 June, Bercow received 179 votes – more than any other candidate, but short of the majority required for victory. In the third and final round of voting later that day, he defeated George Young by 322 votes to 271,{{cite web|url=http://news.parliament.uk/2009/06/election-of-the-speaker-latest/ |title=Election of the Speaker |publisher=Parliament of the United Kingdom |date=21 April 2010 |access-date=30 November 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090630013226/http://news.parliament.uk/2009/06/election-of-the-speaker-latest/ |archive-date=30 June 2009 }} and was approved by the Queen at 10 pm that night as the 157th Speaker. In accordance with convention, he rescinded his Conservative Party membership.{{cite web |url=http://www.beds.ac.uk/about-us/our-people/chancellor |title=Chancellor of the University of Bedfordshire |publisher=University of Bedfordshire |access-date=10 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518102117/http://www.beds.ac.uk/about-us/our-people/chancellor |archive-date=18 May 2015 |url-status=live}}{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-2015-32145429 |title=How election results are calculated and reported |publisher=BBC News |date=30 April 2015 |access-date=10 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150509220237/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-2015-32145429 |archive-date=9 May 2015 |url-status=live}} Bercow was elected by a large number of Labour votes, many MPs being driven by the perception that Michael Martin had been hounded out of the job and wanting his replacement to be someone who was not a Conservative Party favourite.[http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article6565099.ece Farewell to tights as new Speaker John Bercow presides over Commons], The Times, 24 June 2009 {{Dead link|date=October 2021}}[http://www.economist.com/world/britain/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13919553 Laws, sausages, speakers] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090629105514/http://www.economist.com/world/britain/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13919553 |date=29 June 2009}}, The Economist, 25 June 2009

Bercow was the first Speaker to be Jewish,{{cite web|url=http://jta.org/news/article/2009/06/23/1006053/british-lawmakers-elect-first-jewish-speaker|title=British lawmakers elect first Jewish speaker|publisher=Jewish Telegraphic Agency|date=23 June 2009|access-date=30 November 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090626120347/http://jta.org/news/article/2009/06/23/1006053/british-lawmakers-elect-first-jewish-speaker|archive-date=26 June 2009|url-status=live}} the first one to have been elected by an exhaustive ballot, and the first not to wear traditional court robes while presiding over the House of Commons.{{cite news|url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/farewell-to-tights-as-new-speaker-john-bercow-presides-over-commons-kxlwrqsszh8|work=The Times|title=Farewell to tights as new Speaker John Bercow presides over Commons|first=Philip|last=Webster|date=24 June 2009|access-date=8 November 2024}} However, in accordance with tradition, Bercow did display his coat of arms at Speaker's House.{{cite news |last=Ross |first=Tim |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/8929783/John-Bercows-coat-of-arms-cost-more-than-we-thought.html |title=John Bercow's coat of arms cost more than we thought |work=The Daily Telegraph |date=2 December 2011 |access-date=23 May 2014 |location=London |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140628011239/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/8929783/John-Bercows-coat-of-arms-cost-more-than-we-thought.html |archive-date=28 June 2014 |url-status=live }}

Within weeks of taking office as Speaker, Bercow ordered a redecoration and refurbishment of the Speaker's grace and favour apartment in the Palace of Westminster, partly with the objective of making it child-friendly; the work cost £20,659 and was paid for by Parliament. It followed extensive work on the apartment under the previous Speaker.{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mps-expenses/5974009/MPs-expenses-speaker-John-Bercows-20000-bill-for-apartment.html|work=The Daily Telegraph|title=MPs' expenses: speaker John Bercow's £20,000 bill for apartment|first=Andrew|last=Porter|date=4 August 2009|access-date=6 May 2010|location=London|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100521052004/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mps-expenses/5974009/MPs-expenses-speaker-John-Bercows-20000-bill-for-apartment.html|archive-date=21 May 2010|url-status=live}}

In October 2009, Bercow chaired the United Kingdom Youth Parliament's first annual sitting in the House of Commons, making them the only group except members of parliament to sit in the chamber. He chaired every subsequent sitting and attended every annual conference until his resignation in 2019, addressing and supporting Members of Youth Parliament from across the UK.

The Speaker of the House of Commons is traditionally seen as outside party politics and is often not challenged by the main parties at general elections, including the 2010 general election. In September 2009, Nigel Farage resigned his leadership of the UK Independence Party (UKIP) to stand for Bercow's Buckingham seat, asserting, "This man represents all that is wrong with British politics today. He was embroiled in the expenses saga and he presides over a Parliament that virtually does nothing."{{cite web|url=http://www.spectator.co.uk/coffeehouse/5304556/farage-to-stand-against-bercow.thtml|title=Farage to stand against Bercow|work=The Spectator|access-date=30 November 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605035252/http://www.spectator.co.uk/coffeehouse/5304556/farage-to-stand-against-bercow.thtml|archive-date=5 June 2011}}{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/farage-to-stand-against-speaker-bercow-1781152.html|work=The Independent|title=Farage to stand against speaker Bercow|first=Jon|last=Smith|date=3 September 2009|access-date=6 May 2010|location=London|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090906083236/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/farage-to-stand-against-speaker-bercow-1781152.html|archive-date=6 September 2009|url-status=live}} John Stevens, another candidate, found support for his campaign from the former Independent MP Martin Bell.{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/in-buckingham-the-bell-tolls-for-blair-1946381.html|title=In Buckingham, the Bell tolls for Blair|work=The Independent|access-date=20 April 2010|date=16 April 2010|location=London|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100418073833/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/in-buckingham-the-bell-tolls-for-blair-1946381.html|archive-date=18 April 2010|url-status=live}} Bercow also faced opposition from the British National Party and the Christian Party.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/election2010/results/constituency/a79.stm|publisher=BBC News|title=Buckingham|access-date=6 May 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100503195304/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/election2010/results/constituency/a79.stm|archive-date=3 May 2010|url-status=live}}

As Bercow lacked a party endorsement and therefore a campaign team, he sought to build one. A group of his supporters known as 'Friends of Speaker Bercow' solicited donations for the campaign, aiming to raise £40,000. When one of their letters was received by a member of UKIP, the recipient referred it to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, complaining that it appeared that Bercow's fundraising campaign was operating from the Speaker's Office, which is required to remain politically neutral.{{cite news|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article7040324.ece|work=The Times|title=Complaint over fundraising letter from Friends of Speaker Bercow|date=25 February 2010|access-date=6 May 2010|first1=Suzy|last1=Jagger|first2=Tom|last2=Baldwin|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604230202/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article7040324.ece|archive-date=4 June 2011|url-status=dead}} The Commissioner declined to launch an investigation because of the lack of evidence.{{cite web|url=http://www.bucksherald.co.uk/generalelection/No-inquiry-into-actions-of.6155541.jp|title=No inquiry into actions of Friends of Speaker Bercow|work=Bucks Herald|access-date=30 November 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100323032327/http://www.bucksherald.co.uk/generalelection/No-inquiry-into-actions-of.6155541.jp|archive-date=23 March 2010|url-status=live}}

To mark the centenary of the Parliament Act 1911, Bercow commissioned a series of lectures about the main political figures of the century. The Speaker's Lectures continue with a variety of topics such as historic parliamentarians and current affairs.

Bercow won the most votes in Buckingham. In his victory speech, he addressed the issue of the 1289 spoilt ballot papers that were counted in the constituency.{{Cite web |title=Updated 2015 General Election Results File – The British Election Study |url=https://www.britishelectionstudy.com/bes-resources/updated-2015-general-election-results-file/#.WQr3zxiZOEI |access-date=2023-12-04 |website=britishelectionstudy.com}}

On 26 March 2015, the House of Commons defeated a government motion (introduced by former Conservative party leader and then leader of the House of Commons William Hague) to require a secret ballot on whether Bercow would remain speaker after the 2015 general election. A number of MPs described it as an underhand plot to oust Bercow, largely based on the timing of the motion just before the dissolution of Parliament when some Labour MPs expected to oppose it had already returned to their constituencies.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-32061097|title=Bid to change Speaker rules defeated amid emotional scenes|date=26 March 2015|publisher=BBC News|access-date=21 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180405211953/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-32061097|archive-date=5 April 2018|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/mar/26/tory-backbench-rebellion-defeats-hagues-attempt-to-unseat-speaker-john-bercow|title=Tory backbench rebellion defeats Hague's attempt to unseat Speaker|first=Patrick |last=Wintour|date=26 March 2015|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=14 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191019072445/https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/mar/26/tory-backbench-rebellion-defeats-hagues-attempt-to-unseat-speaker-john-bercow|archive-date=19 October 2019|url-status=live}}{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/david-cameron/11497740/Sour-end-to-Parliament-for-Tories-as-plot-against-Bercow-is-routed.html |location=London |work=The Daily Telegraph |first=Matthew |last=Holehouse |title=Sour end to Parliament for Tories as 'plot' against Bercow is routed |date=26 March 2015 |access-date=2 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180302103941/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/david-cameron/11497740/Sour-end-to-Parliament-for-Tories-as-plot-against-Bercow-is-routed.html |archive-date=2 March 2018 |url-status=live }}{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/john-bercow-governments-squalid-plot-to-oust-the-speaker-fails-10137132.html |location=London |work=The Independent |first=Oliver |last=Wright |title=John Bercow: Government's 'squalid' plot to oust the Speaker fails |date=26 March 2015 |access-date=1 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170615182136/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/john-bercow-governments-squalid-plot-to-oust-the-speaker-fails-10137132.html |archive-date=15 June 2017 |url-status=live }} In the event, Bercow was re-elected unopposed as Speaker following the general election.

In February 2017, Bercow said he had supported continued membership of the European Union in the 2016 referendum.{{cite news |title=John Bercow 'impartial' despite revealing Remain vote |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-38947257 |url-status=live |publisher=BBC News |date=12 February 2017 |access-date=27 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181022211236/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-38947257 |archive-date=22 October 2018}}

On 6 February 2017, Bercow said in the house that he would be "strongly opposed" to US President Donald Trump addressing the Houses of Parliament during his planned state visit to the UK, and told MPs that "opposition to racism and sexism" were "hugely important considerations".{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-38884604|title=Speaker Bercow: Trump should not speak in Parliament|date=6 February 2017|publisher=BBC News|access-date=21 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180509170659/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-38884604|archive-date=9 May 2018|url-status=live}} The comments proved controversial and made the headlines in many UK newspapers the following day,{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-the-papers-38888660|title=Newspaper headlines: John Bercow 'silences' Donald Trump|date=7 February 2017|publisher=BBC News|access-date=21 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190121200853/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-the-papers-38888660|archive-date=21 January 2019|url-status=live}} with some such as Guardian columnist Owen Jones,{{cite news|last=Jones|first=Owen|author-link=Owen Jones (writer)|title=All praise to John Bercow for refusing to bow to racist, sexist Donald Trump|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/feb/07/john-bercow-donald-trump-parliament-state-visit-speech-westminster|access-date=7 February 2017|work=The Guardian|date=7 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170207124644/https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/feb/07/john-bercow-donald-trump-parliament-state-visit-speech-westminster|archive-date=7 February 2017|url-status=live}} Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, Labour MP Dennis Skinner and Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron supporting this intervention.{{cite news|last=Chorley|first=Matt|title=Speaker's intervention causes a ruckus|url=https://www.thetimes.com/world/us-world/article/speakers-intervention-causes-a-ruckus-qqlx2bc95|access-date=7 February 2017|work=The Times|date=7 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170207101415/http://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/speakers-intervention-causes-a-ruckus-qqlx2bc95|archive-date=7 February 2017|url-status=live}} His comments were criticised by some opponents of Trump, such as Conservative MP Nadhim Zahawi, for being hypocritical and undermining the Speaker's neutrality,{{cite news|last1=Zahawi|first1=Nadhim|title=John Bercow is wrong. The Speaker must be impartial, even about Trump|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/feb/07/john-bercow-wrong-trump-speaker-impartial|work=The Guardian|date=7 February 2017|access-date=7 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170207175951/https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/feb/07/john-bercow-wrong-trump-speaker-impartial|archive-date=7 February 2017|url-status=live}} and some in the government reportedly felt that Bercow had overstepped his role. John Whittingdale, the Conservative MP for Maldon and a former Culture Secretary, dismissed Bercow's remarks as "playing to the gallery for as much publicity as possible",{{cite news|title=Lord Speaker to attack John Bercow over Donald Trump intervention|work=The Daily Telegraph|location=London|first=Laura|last=Hughes|date=7 February 2017|access-date=7 February 2017|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/02/07/john-bercow-faces-calls-think-position-bid-silence-donald-trump1/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170207124414/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/02/07/john-bercow-faces-calls-think-position-bid-silence-donald-trump1/|archive-date=7 February 2017|url-status=live}} and Bercow himself apologised to the Lord Speaker Lord Fowler over a lack of consultation over his remarks.{{cite news|last1=Walker|first1=Peter|last2=Asthana|first2=Anushka|last3=Elgot|first3=Jessica|title=John Bercow apologises to Lords counterpart amid Trump visit row|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/feb/07/john-bercow-accused-of-hypocrisy-over-trump-stance|access-date=7 February 2017|work=The Guardian|date=7 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170207092058/https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/feb/07/john-bercow-accused-of-hypocrisy-over-trump-stance|archive-date=7 February 2017|url-status=live}}

Following the 2017 general election, Bercow was re-elected unopposed as Speaker of the House by members of parliament on 13 June 2017.{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/06/13/john-bercow-re-elected-commons-speaker/|title=John Bercow re-elected as Commons Speaker|date=13 June 2017|work=The Daily Telegraph|access-date=2 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171106093744/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/06/13/john-bercow-re-elected-commons-speaker/|archive-date=6 November 2017|url-status=live}}

In January 2019, Bercow broke with convention, allowing a vote on an amendment to a government business motion. The amendment, tabled by Dominic Grieve MP, required Prime Minister Theresa May to table a motion within three days on proposed alternative plans if her Brexit deal was rejected by Parliament.{{cite news|title='John Bercow has shown he will play a pivotal role in the Brexit endgame – here's how'|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/brexit-bercow-vote-grieve-amendment-conservatives-tory-party-theresa-may-plan-b-eu-a8722691.html|date=11 January 2019|website=The Independent|access-date=12 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190113071218/https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/brexit-bercow-vote-grieve-amendment-conservatives-tory-party-theresa-may-plan-b-eu-a8722691.html|archive-date=13 January 2019|url-status=live}}

On 18 March 2019, Bercow, in a statement to the House, pre-empted a move by the Government to bring the UK/EU Withdrawal Agreement for a third vote. Citing a convention which dates back to 1604, Bercow stated that he would not allow a vote on a motion which was "substantially the same" as a previously rejected motion.{{Cite news |date=18 March 2019 |title=Third Brexit vote must be different – Speaker |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-47614074 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190327160430/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-47614074 |archive-date=27 March 2019 |access-date=25 March 2019}}

During the Brexit debates throughout that year, his particular speaking style and calls for order got widespread attention in viral videos on social media outside the U.K.{{Cite news |last=Barry |first=Ellen |date=2019-01-19 |title=John Bercow, Shouting for ‘Order’ Amid Chaos, Is Brexit’s Surprise Star and Villain |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/19/world/europe/brexit-speaker-john-bercow.html |access-date=2025-01-28 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4v7wddN-Wg |title=Order! Speaker John Bercow sorgt im House of Commons für Ordnung |date=2019-01-17 |last=tagesschau |access-date=2025-01-28 |via=YouTube}}{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EY7EIZl4raY |title='Order!': John Bercow's decade of thunderous pronouncements |date=2019-01-17 |last=Guardian News |access-date=2025-01-28 |via=YouTube}}{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68pInc5bWO4 |title=Unterhaus-Sprecher John Bercow: Der einzige Gewinner {{!}} DER SPIEGEL |date=2019-01-17 |last=DER SPIEGEL |access-date=2025-01-28 |via=YouTube}}{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqWasYaIxlI |title=If Britain Can Do It, Maybe We Can Too |date=2019-09-05 |last=The Late Show with Stephen Colbert |access-date=2025-01-29 |via=YouTube}} "I apparently say it in a way that amuses some people. I suspect it's some interest in what is regarded as English eccentricity.," he told Der Spiegel in April 2019. "I inherited my speaking style from my late father. It obviously provokes comment. Some people say, "Oh, we like the way he speaks." And other people say, "That bloke's an irritating clot, he's horrible." Well, my argument is that I'm authentic. And I'm just being me. It's not a contrivance. It's not a put-on show. It's the way I am."{{Cite news |last=Schindler |first=Jörg |date=2019-04-01 |title=British House Speaker John Bercow on His Brexit Role |url=https://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/british-house-speaker-john-bercow-on-his-brexit-role-a-1260659.html |access-date=2025-01-28 |work=Der Spiegel |language=en |issn=2195-1349}} He told CBS' 60 Minutes in fall 2019 that "quite quickly my wife and kids drew my attention to the fact that they saw on the internet that there was a lot of interest in other countries."{{Cite web |last=Croxton |first=Will |date=2019-11-03 |title=John Bercow: Brexit's uniquely British internet star - 60 Minutes - CBS News |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/john-bercow-brexits-uniquely-british-internet-star-60-minutes-2019-11-03/ |access-date=2025-01-28 |website=www.cbsnews.com |language=en-US}}{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfiKXuRZlE4 |title=John Bercow: Brexit's uniquely British internet star |date=2019-11-03 |last=60 Minutes |access-date=2025-01-28 |via=YouTube}}

File:Bercow Announces Retirement (D).jpg

Having served 10 years as Speaker, Bercow became the longest-serving Speaker since Edward FitzRoy, who served nearly 15 years in post between 1928 and 1943.{{cite web |url=https://www.speakersconnect.com/speaker/john-bercow/ |title=John Bercow }}

In October 2018, it was reported that Bercow intended to step down as Speaker in the summer of 2019,{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-45880134 |title=John Bercow 'to quit as Speaker next summer' |publisher=BBC News |date=16 October 2018 |access-date=16 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181016135812/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-45880134 |archive-date=16 October 2018 |url-status=live}} but in January 2019 it was reported that he planned to stay as Speaker until the end of the parliament, in 2022.{{Cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/jan/19/john-bercow-remain-speaker-brexit-bias |title=Defiant John Bercow 'set to stay as speaker' |first1=Toby |last1=Helm |first2=Michael |last2=Savage |date=19 January 2019 |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=23 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190323204414/https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/jan/19/john-bercow-remain-speaker-brexit-bias |archive-date=23 March 2019 |url-status=live}} On 9 September 2019, amid debates about Brexit and parliament being prorogued, Bercow declared to the House of Commons that he would stand down on 31 October, or at the next general election, whichever was sooner;{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-49639828|title=Commons Speaker Bercow to stand down |publisher=BBC News |date=9 September 2019 |access-date=9 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190910014722/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-49639828 |archive-date=10 September 2019 |url-status=live}} the former applied.

Despite the convention that former Speakers of the House of Commons are elevated to membership of the House of Lords when they resign, the Prime Minister denied Bercow a peerage{{cite news |title=John Bercow says he was denied peerage by 'people who have got grievances and agendas' |first=Joanna |last=Whitehead |work=i |date=6 June 2020 |url=https://inews.co.uk/news/john-bercow-ex-speaker-denies-peerage-grievances-agendas-434759}} because it was perceived that he had not maintained political neutrality in office and would not be politically neutral in the House of Lords as convention requires.Thomas, George 1985 Mr Speaker: The Memoirs of Viscount Tonypandy, Century, London ISBN 0-7126-0706-4 Sources in the Cabinet had suggested beforehand that this would be due to his rulings during the Parliamentary votes on Brexit,For example, {{cite news |title=Speaker's Brexit ruling 'extremely concerning', say ministers |publisher=BBC News |date=10 January 2019 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-46818428}} which the Government saw as biased against them.{{cite news |title=Speaker Bercow 'could be denied peerage' |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-46913477 |url-status=live |publisher=BBC News |date=17 January 2019 |access-date=21 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190120140541/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-46913477 |archive-date=20 January 2019}} Bercow became the first ex-Speaker since the retirement of Arthur Onslow in 1761 to have been eligible for, but not have been made the offer of, a peerage. Overall, he is the tenth Speaker not to receive a Peerage since the 1707 Act of Union, and the fifth since Onslow's retirement not to be immediately elevated to the House of Lords: Charles Wolfran Cornwall died in office with no peerage offer to his surviving family, John Henry Whitley was offered but declined, and following the deaths of Edward FitzRoy and Sir Harry Hylton-Foster in office, their widows were ennobled instead.{{cite web |title=John Bercow first speaker in 230 years not to be offered peerage after resigning |url=https://metro.co.uk/2019/12/28/john-bercow-first-speaker-230-years-not-offered-peerage-resigning-11969319/ |date=28 December 2019}} With no prospect of a government-sponsored peerage, Bercow lobbied the Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, in the hope that the opposition might give him preferment.{{cite news |last1=Pogrund |first1=Gabriel |last2=Maguire |first2=Patrick |date=22 June 2021 |title=John Bercow asked Jeremy Corbyn for a peerage after No 10 snub |url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/john-bercow-asked-jeremy-corbyn-for-a-peerage-after-no-10-snub-hldvwfqwd |work=The Times |access-date=9 March 2022}}

In November 2019, Bercow retired from the Commons (using the Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead mechanism: since members of the House of Commons are prohibited from resigning, the legal device of appointment to an "office of profit under The Crown" is used to permit members to leave their legislative offices).[https://www.gov.uk/government/news/manor-of-northstead-john-bercow Manor of Northstead: John Bercow, Gov.uk, 4 November 2019] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191104114034/https://www.gov.uk/government/news/manor-of-northstead-john-bercow |date=4 November 2019}}. Retrieved 4 November 2019{{cite web |title=Rt Hon John Bercow – Parliamentary career – MPs and Lords – UK Parliament |url=https://members.parliament.uk/member/17/career |url-status=live |publisher=Parliament of the United Kingdom |access-date=4 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191104155008/https://members.parliament.uk/member/17/career |archive-date=4 November 2019}}

In the same month, Bercow stated that he "think[s] that Brexit is the biggest foreign policy mistake in the post-war period, and that is my honest view."{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/election-2019-50318810 |title=Speaker Bercow: Brexit 'biggest post-war foreign policy mistake' |publisher=BBC News |date=6 November 2019 |access-date=6 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191106183410/https://www.bbc.com/news/election-2019-50318810 |archive-date=6 November 2019 |url-status=live}} This led to further questions about Bercow's impartiality during the Brexit parliamentary debates.{{cite news |url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/john-bercow-brands-brexit-biggest-20823373 |title=John Bercow brands Brexit 'biggest mistake after WW2' as he finally confirms view – Mirror Online |work=The Mirror |date=6 November 2019 |access-date=6 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191106150803/https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/john-bercow-brands-brexit-biggest-20823373 |archive-date=6 November 2019 |url-status=live}} He maintained that he was impartial during the debates, and only made his views clear after leaving office.{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-2019-50318810 |title=John Bercow: Brexit 'biggest post-war foreign policy mistake' |publisher=BBC News |date=6 November 2019 |access-date=12 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200112160521/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-2019-50318810 |archive-date=12 January 2020 |url-status=live}}

He joined Sky News for its election night coverage of the 2019 general election on December 12, 2019.{{Cite web |title=Order! John Bercow's highlights from election night |url=https://news.sky.com/video/order-john-bercows-highlights-from-election-night-11885354 |access-date=2025-01-28 |website=Sky News |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Champion |first=Matthew |date=2019-12-13 |title=15 Bizarre Moments From UK Election Night That You Might Have Missed |url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/matthewchampion/uk-election-night-weird-moments |access-date=2025-01-28 |website=BuzzFeed |language=en-gb}} Later that month, he delivered the Alternative Christmas message on Channel 4.{{Cite news |last=Mohdin |first=Aamna |date=2019-12-25 |title=John Bercow decries populism in alternative Christmas message |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/dec/25/john-bercow-decries-populism-in-alternative-christmas-message |access-date=2025-01-28 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}

His autobiography, Unspeakable, was published in 2020.{{cite news |last=Rawnsley |first=Andrew |author-link=Andrew Rawnsley |title=Unspeakable by John Bercow review – now who's out of order? |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/feb/09/unspeakable-john-bercow-review |work=The Guardian |date=9 February 2020 |access-date=27 May 2020 |issn=0261-3077 |language=en-GB}} In his memoirs, he was highly critical of David Cameron, Theresa May, Boris Johnson and Andrea Leadsom. Bercow has since identified himself as a soft leftist and declared that he voted for Sadiq Khan to be Mayor of London. He was also nominated for a peerage by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, but this was refused by Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Bercow has also been very critical of the British government response to the COVID-19 pandemic since leaving Parliament.

On 19 June 2021, Bercow said that he had joined the Labour Party "a few weeks ago".{{cite news|last=Helm|first=Toby|author-link=Toby Helm|date=19 June 2021|title=John Bercow defects to Labour with withering attack on Johnson|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/jun/19/john-bercow-defects-to-labour-with-withering-attack-on-johnson|work=The Guardian|access-date=19 June 2021}} He said Boris Johnson's Conservative Party was "reactionary, populist, nationalistic and sometimes even xenophobic." He said his move to Labour was motivated by his "support for equality, social justice and internationalism. That is the Labour brand."

While Bercow originally "proposed before he leaves office to waive his entitlement to the Speaker's pension until he reaches the age of 65", in 2021 he revealed he started taking the pension when he left the office, after speaking with his wife.{{cite news|title=John Bercow breaks pledge not to take Speaker's pension until he is 65|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2021/07/18/john-bercow-breaks-pledge-not-take-speakers-pension-65/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2021/07/18/john-bercow-breaks-pledge-not-take-speakers-pension-65/ |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |work=The Telegraph |date=18 July 2021 |access-date=19 July 2021}}{{cbignore}}

Bercow has participated in a number of "celebrity" and reality TV shows in Britain and the US.{{Cite web |date=2023-09-21 |title=The Traitors Season 2 Returning to Peacock with 21 All-Star Celebrities – Meet the Cast |url=https://www.nbc.com/nbc-insider/the-traitors-season-2-cast-celebrities |access-date=2024-01-13 |website=NBC Insider Official Site |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2024-01-03 |title=The Traitors Season 2: Meet the New Cast |url=https://www.peacocktv.com/blog/the-traitors-season-2-meet-the-new-cast |access-date=2024-01-13 |website=Peacock Blog |language=en}}https://www.bbc.com/mediacentre/2024/celebrity-antiques-road-trip-line-up-series-13

In 2024, Bercow provided the voice of the Robot Speaker of the House of Commons in the Fallout mod Fallout: London.{{cite news |last1=Jessop |first1=Vicky |title=Order! John Bercow makes cameo appearance in Fallout: London mod |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/gaming/john-bercow-cameo-appearance-fallout-london-mod-b1171336.html |work=Evening Standard|location=London |date=19 July 2024 |language=en}}

In May 2018, Bercow's former private secretary Angus Sinclair alleged on the BBC's Newsnight programme that Bercow had repeatedly bullied him while at work.{{cite news |last1=Cook |first1=Chris |last2=Day |first2=Lucinda |title=Bercow accused of bullying private secretary |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-43963788 |url-status=live |publisher=BBC News |date=2 May 2018 |access-date=25 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180505210429/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-43963788 |archive-date=5 May 2018}} Sinclair said that he was told to sign a non-disclosure agreement when he left his post, to prevent him revealing Bercow's bullying. Bercow denied the claims.{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/may/14/speaker-john-bercow-bullying-allegations-commons-staff|title=Commons staff helped MPs 'spin' Speaker's defence against bullying claims|first=Rajeev|last=Syal|date=14 May 2018|website=The Guardian|access-date=25 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180518211053/https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/may/14/speaker-john-bercow-bullying-allegations-commons-staff|archive-date=18 May 2018|url-status=live}} Sinclair's allegations came not long after the BBC reported that his successor as Bercow's private secretary, Kate Emms, had been signed off work and then moved to another role. Unnamed colleagues of Emms had told the BBC's Newsnight programme that her sickness and change of role were because of bullying by Bercow.{{cite news |last1=Cook |first1=Chris |last2=Day |first2=Lucinda |date=8 March 2018 |title=Bullying and harassment at the House of Commons |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-43338305 |publisher=BBC News |access-date=23 June 2020 }}

In October 2018, Bercow called for an independent body to be set up to investigate allegations of harassment and bullying in Parliament. He faced calls to quit after an independent report by Dame Laura Cox found that harassment and bullying had been tolerated and concealed for years, which Bercow denies.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-45880134|title=Speaker John Bercow wants independent body to examine Commons bullying claims |publisher=BBC News|date=16 October 2018|access-date=16 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181016135812/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-45880134|archive-date=16 October 2018|url-status=live}} On 23 October 2018, three Conservative MPs, Will Quince, Mims Davies and Anne Milton, resigned from the Commons Reference Group on Representation and Inclusion, which is chaired by Bercow, and cited Bercow's handling of bullying and sexual harassment allegations in Parliament as the reason for doing so.{{cite news |author=Kentish, Benjamin |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/john-bercow-speaker-house-of-commons-staff-bullying-will-quince-mims-davies-anne-milton-quit-a8598046.html |title=Pressure on John Bercow after three Tory MPs resign from Commons committee he chairs |work=The Independent |date=23 October 2018 |access-date=7 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181023195810/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/john-bercow-speaker-house-of-commons-staff-bullying-will-quince-mims-davies-anne-milton-quit-a8598046.html |archive-date=23 October 2018 |url-status=live}}{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2018/oct/23/theresa-may-briefs-cabinet-on-brexit-negotiations-politics-live?page=with:block-5bcf2a66e4b09b08174ab258#block-5bcf2a66e4b09b08174ab258 |title=Three Tory MPs quit committee over Bercow bullying claims – as it happened |first1=Jessica |last1=Elgot |first2=Frances |last2=Perraudin |first3=Alexandra |last3=Topping |date=23 October 2018 |work=The Guardian |access-date=7 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181229031245/https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2018/oct/23/theresa-may-briefs-cabinet-on-brexit-negotiations-politics-live?page=with%3Ablock-5bcf2a66e4b09b08174ab258#block-5bcf2a66e4b09b08174ab258 |archive-date=29 December 2018 |url-status=live}}{{cite news |last=Yorke |first=Harry |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2018/10/23/john-bercow-thrust-back-spotlight-westminster-bullying-three/ |title=John Bercow thrust back into spotlight over Westminster bullying as three Government members quit his committee |work=The Daily Telegraph |date=23 October 2018 |access-date=7 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181119042706/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2018/10/23/john-bercow-thrust-back-spotlight-westminster-bullying-three/ |archive-date=19 November 2018 |url-status=live}}{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-45953183 |title=MPs quit Commons group because Speaker Bercow chairs it |publisher=BBC News |date=23 October 2018 |access-date=7 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190109030017/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-45953183 |archive-date=9 January 2019 |url-status=live}}

In January 2020, Lord Lisvane, who served as Clerk of the House of Commons under Bercow, submitted a formal complaint to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards.{{cite news |title=Bercow accused of bullying staff by his former top aide |first1=Francis |last1=Elliott |first2=Esther |last2=Webber |date=23 January 2020 |url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/bercow-accused-of-bullying-staff-by-his-former-top-aide-k792fd0lm |work=The Times}}{{cite news |title=Formal complaint lodged against John Bercow |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-51220144 |publisher=BBC News |date=23 January 2020}} In the same month Lisvane's complaint was followed up by a further accusation of bullying, made by the former Black Rod, Lieutenant-General David Leakey.{{cite news |last=Leakey |first=David |title=Speakers who bully are not worthy of a peerage |url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/speakers-who-bully-are-not-worthy-of-a-peerage-b05zz2r5z |work=The Times |date=25 January 2020}}

In January 2022, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, Kathryn Stone, upheld 21 allegations out of 35 brought by Lord Lisvane and private secretaries Kate Emms and Angus Sinclair against Bercow, who appealed to the Independent Expert Panel.{{cite news |title=John Bercow bites back as inquiry brands him a bully |url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/john-bercow-bites-back-as-inquiry-brands-him-a-bully-6hlf8lbg6 |first=Tim |last=Shipman |date=15 January 2022 |work=The Times}}

In March 2022, the Independent Expert Panel upheld the findings of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, concluding that Bercow had "been widely unreliable and repeatedly dishonest in his evidence", a "serial liar" and a "serial bully".{{cite news |title=John Bercow found to be 'serial bully' and liar by independent inquiry |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/mar/08/john-bercow-ex-speaker-banned-commons-bullying-inquiry |access-date=8 March 2022 |work=The Guardian |first1=Jessica |last1=Elgot |first2=Rowena |last2=Mason |date=8 March 2022}} Formally reprimanding Bercow, the Panel recommended that, as he was no longer a Member of Parliament and could not, therefore, be expelled from the House of Commons, "he should never be permitted a pass to the Parliamentary estate". Bercow rejected the Panel's findings and declared the body⁠—which included a former Lord Justice of Appeal and a former Chief Coroner⁠—to be a "kangaroo court" lacking in legal expertise.{{cite news |title='Kangaroo court' has found me guilty of bullying, says John Bercow |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/jan/16/john-bercow-speaker-commons-parliamentary-inquiry-kathryn-stone |work=The Guardian |first=Haroon |last=Siddique |date=16 January 2022}}{{cite news |title=Universities under pressure to cut ties with 'serial bully' John Bercow |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2022/03/09/universities-pressure-cut-ties-serial-bully-john-bercow/ |newspaper=The Telegraph|date=9 March 2022 |last1=Diver |first1=Tony }} Lisvane dismissed Bercow's rejection as "hysterical petulance from someone caught bang to rights".{{cite news |last=Mason |first=Rowena |date=9 March 2022 |title=John Bercow's protests over bullying verdicts have 'not a shred of credibility' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/mar/09/john-bercow-protests-bullying-verdicts-not-shred-of-credibility-lord-lisvane |work=The Guardian |access-date=9 March 2022}} As a result, Bercow was suspended from the Labour Party.{{Cite news |last=Morris|first=Sophie|title=John Bercow: Former Speaker administratively suspended from Labour after bullying inquiry finds him guilty and bans him from parliament |url=https://news.sky.com/story/john-bercow-former-speaker-administratively-suspended-from-labour-after-bullying-inquiry-finds-him-guilty-and-bans-him-from-parliament-12560710|date=8 March 2022 |access-date=8 March 2022 |publisher=Sky News}}

Bercow married Sally Illman in 2002 after 13 years of an "on-off" relationship,{{cite web |last=Cooke |first=Rachel |author-link=Rachel Cooke |title=John Bercow: 'I may be pompous and an irritant. But I am completely authentic' (interview) |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/nov/10/john-bercow-interview-i-may-be-pompous-but-i-am-completely-authentic |url-status=live |newspaper=The Guardian |date=10 November 2019 |access-date=10 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191110112230/https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/nov/10/john-bercow-interview-i-may-be-pompous-but-i-am-completely-authentic |archive-date=10 November 2019}} and they have three children.{{cite news |last=Wheeler |first=Brian |title=The John Bercow story |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8114399.stm |url-status=live |publisher=BBC News |date=24 June 2009 |access-date=2 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170829211602/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8114399.stm |archive-date=29 August 2017}} Their elder son, Oliver, is autistic.{{youTube|qnmfaRr3XDs|Interview with Sally and John Bercow about being parents of a boy with autism (October 2012}} Sally had an affair with Bercow's cousin in 2015 but she later returned to the marriage; Bercow said he bore some responsibility for the affair by not providing enough time for his wife.{{Cite news |last=Sleator |first=Laurence |date=14 March 2022 |title=Police called to domestic incident at John Bercow's family home |language=en |work=The Times |url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/crime/article/police-called-to-domestic-incident-at-john-bercows-family-home-7tlshnjxg |url-access=subscription |access-date=14 March 2022 |issn=0140-0460}} His wife, who used to be a Conservative, switched to supporting the Labour Party, campaigning for both her husband individually and Labour in the wider election in 1997. Bercow and those close to him reject the view that she was especially influential in changing his political views.{{cite news|url=http://www.bigissue.com/features/letter-to-my-younger-self/4112/john-bercow-interview-insecurity-propelled-me-towards|title=JOHN BERCOW INTERVIEW: "INSECURITY PROPELLED ME TOWARDS HARDLINE RIGHT-WING POLITICS"|access-date=2 June 2015|publisher=Big Issue|date=22 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150605002025/http://www.bigissue.com/features/letter-to-my-younger-self/4112/john-bercow-interview-insecurity-propelled-me-towards|archive-date=5 June 2015|url-status=live}} Both he and his wife are teetotallers.{{cite news |last1=Macintyre |first1=James |title=Getting the House in order |url=https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/magazine/john-bercow-speaker-of-the-house-profile |access-date=27 March 2020 |work=Prospect Magazine |date=10 July 2011}}

Bercow is a humanist, and before taking the role of Speaker was a member of the All-Party Parliamentary Humanist Group.{{cite web|url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm/cmparty/070613/memi308.htm|title=All Party Parliamentary Humanist Group|publisher=Her Majesty's Government|year=2007|access-date=4 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151111151924/http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm/cmparty/070613/memi308.htm|archive-date=11 November 2015|url-status=live}} When discussing the role of clergy in Parliament, he described himself in a Commons debate as "an irreligious person taking a secular interest in an important subject".{{cite Hansard |jurisdiction=United Kingdom |title=House of Commons (Removal of Clergy Disqualification) Bill |url=https://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200001/cmhansrd/vo010301/debtext/10301-27.htm |house=House of Commons |date=1 March 2001 |speaker=John Bercow |access-date=14 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170215021836/https://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200001/cmhansrd/vo010301/debtext/10301-27.htm |archive-date=15 February 2017 |url-status=live }}

Bercow has been a fan of Arsenal F.C. since January 1971 and is a season ticket holder. He always attends games with his son and has appeared on AFTV.{{youTube|ifQxEurjiDo|Arsene Wenger Deserves Respect! John Bercow, Speaker of the House of Commons}} Bercow is also a lifelong follower of tennis, having played competitively against the likes of Andrew Castle and Jeremy Bates in his youth.{{Cite news |last=Crace |first=John |date=25 May 2014 |title=John Bercow: how to become a political pass master |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/may/26/john-bercow-political-pass-master |access-date=4 January 2023}} His book on the sport, Tennis Maestros: The Twenty Greatest Male Tennis Players of All Time, was published in 2014 by Biteback Publishing.{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tTSzAwAAQBAJ |title=Tennis Maestros: The Twenty Greatest Male Tennis Players of All Time|isbn=9781849547659 |last1=Bercow |first1=John |date=2 June 2014 |publisher=Biteback}}{{Cite web |url=https://www.bitebackpublishing.com/books/tennis-maestros |title=Tennis Maestros |access-date=31 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191031135012/https://www.bitebackpublishing.com/books/tennis-maestros |archive-date=31 October 2019 |url-status=live }}

Bercow and his wife are directors and shareholders of Fedhead Limited, an "information service company".{{cite web |title=FEDHEAD LIMITED overview |url=https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/11999759 |publisher=Companies House |access-date=7 October 2024 |language=en}}{{cite web |title=Employers who have claimed through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/employers-who-have-claimed-through-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme |website=GOV.UK |access-date=1 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210730072943/https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/employers-who-have-claimed-through-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme |archive-date=30 July 2021 |language=English |date=26 January 2021 |url-status=live}}

• {{cite book |title=Tennis Maestros: The Twenty Greatest Male Tennis Players of All Time. |publisher=Biteback Publishing |date=2 June 2014 |isbn=9781849547659}}
• {{cite book |title=Unspeakable: The Autobiography |publisher=W&N |date=6 February 2020 |isbn=978-1474616621}}

{{Emblem table

|notes = Granted in 2011

|image = Coat of arms of John Bercow.svg

|escutcheon = Per pale Azure and Gules four roundels in bend Or between the rungs of a ladder bendwise throughout Argent all between two seaxes bendwise points upwards and cutting edges outwards Or.

|crest = Upon a helm with a wreath Or Azure and Gules in front of a demi swan wings inverted and expanded Proper gorged with a coronet Or and holding in its beak a Pink triangle Proper a portcullis sans chains Or within an annulet per pale Gules and Azure all in front of a rainbow Proper.

|mantling = Azure and Gules lined Or.

|motto = All Are Equal{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2011/nov/28/john-bercow-coat-of-arms |title=John Bercow unveils new coat of arms |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=15 February 2019 |date=28 November 2011 |last1=Watt |first1=Nicholas }}{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/8921578/John-Bercow-unveils-his-37000-portrait-and-coat-of-arms-complete-with-ladder-rainbow-and-pink-triangles.html |title=John Bercow unveils his £37,000 portrait and coat of arms complete with ladder, rainbow and pink triangles |website=The Daily Telegraph |access-date=15 February 2019 |date=28 November 2011 |last1=Hope |first1=Christopher }}{{cite web|url=https://www.parliament.uk/business/news/2011/november/speakers-portrait/ |title=Official state portrait of Speaker John Bercow unveiled |website=UK Parliament |access-date=15 February 2019}}{{cite web |url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/baz_manning/8601679284/in/album-72177720295872339/ |title=Speaker Bercow 2009–2019 |date=29 March 2013 |publisher=Baz Manning |access-date=16 January 2022}}

|badge = In front of a seaxe fesswise point to the sinister and cutting edge upwards Or a wyvern Azure legged and tailed Gules charged on the wings with bezants (four being manifest) grasping with its claws the quillons of the seaxe.

}}

; University degrees

; Chancellor, visitor, governor, rector and fellowships

{{Incomplete list|date=November 2019}}

;Honorary degrees

{{Incomplete list|date=June 2018}}

{{Incomplete list|date=July 2020}}

{{reflist}}

• Bobby Friedman. Bercow, Mr Speaker: Rowdy Living in the Tory Party (2011) Gibson Square.

{{external links|date=August 2019}}

{{Commons category}}

{{Wikiquote}}

• {{Official website}}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20130522075954/http://www.debretts.com/people/biographies/browse/b/17119/John%20Simon+BERCOW.aspx Debrett's People of Today]
• [http://www.parliament.uk/about/mps-and-lords/principal/speaker/ The Speaker] official Parliament website
• {{UK MP links |parliament=john-bercow/17 |hansardcurr=3965 |hansard=mr-john-bercow |guardian=381/john-bercow |publicwhip=John_Bercow |theywork=john_bercow |record=John-Bercow/Buckingham/42 |bbc=25808.stm |journalisted=john-bercow }}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20110429160752/http://www.appg-tribalpeoples.org.uk/ APPG for Tribal Peoples] – Official website
• {{C-SPAN|1000649}}

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{{s-ttl|title=Member of Parliament for Buckingham|years=1997–2019}}

{{s-aft|after=Greg Smith}}

{{s-bef|before=Michael Martin}}

{{s-ttl|title=Speaker of the British House of Commons|years=2009–2019}}

{{s-aft|after=Lindsay Hoyle}}

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{{s-ttl|title=Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury|years=2001–2002}}

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{{s-ttl|title=Shadow Secretary of State for International Development|years=2003–2004}}

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{{s-ttl|title=Chancellor of the University of Bedfordshire|years=2014–{{when|date=February 2024|reason=Sarfraz Manzoor has been chancellor since 2023, but not sure when Bercow's term ended}}}}

{{s-vac|next=Sarfraz Manzoor}}

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{{s-bef|before=Shami Chakrabarti}}

{{s-ttl|title=Chancellor of the University of Essex|years=2017–2021}}

{{s-vac|next=Sarah Perry}}

{{s-end}}

{{2009 Speaker of the British House of Commons election}}

{{Speaker of the British House of Commons}}

{{British special advisers}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bercow, John}}

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