John Bercow first speaker in 230 years not to be offered peerage after resigning
Boris Johnson is thought to have left John Bercow out of the New Year Honours list as revenge for his ‘anti-Brexit bias’.
Allies of the PM said he would scrap the tradition of Commons Speakers automatically being offered a seat in the House of Lords after they resign.
They say the snub is in retaliation for Bercow ignoring parliamentary precedent when dealing with Brexit, before stepping down last month.
He was accused of overriding parliamentary convention by giving backbenchers the chance to seize control of the Commons agenda and pass a law delaying the UK’s departure from the EU before the general election.
A government source told MailOnline: ‘No one in this Government will be rushing to give Bercow a peerage.
‘He likes to think of himself as a reforming Speaker, yet he’s been dogged by scandals and given up any pretence he is impartial.
‘With bullying claims, his Brexit bias and a willingness to ride roughshod over established procedures, this Speaker has undermined public faith in Parliament.’
But his successor Sir Lindsay Hoyle, 62, says he ‘deserves’ the honour because he did ‘great things’ during his 10 years in job, even if he is a controversial figure among leave voters.
As speaker of the Commons, whose job is to referee debates and ensure procedure is carried out properly, Bercow was supposed to remain neutral.
But after stepping down he spoke his mind freely by calling Brexit ‘the biggest foreign policy mistake in the post-war period’.
Unlike Bercow, one Conservative Party member who did receive a New Year Honour is former work and pensions secretary is Iain Duncan Smith, who was given a knighthood by Boris Johnson.
The move was met with uproar by opponents who said he had ‘stripped people of their dignity’ as architect of the ‘cruel’ Universal Credit welfare system.
Zac Goldsmith and Nicky Morgan were both given lifelong peerages earlier this month, but this was not part of the New Year Honours list, which hasn’t included any seats in the House of Lords since 2001.
They say the snub is in retaliation for Bercow ignoring parliamentary precedent when dealing with Brexit, before stepping down last month.
He was accused of overriding parliamentary convention by giving backbenchers the chance to seize control of the Commons agenda and pass a law delaying the UK’s departure from the EU before the general election.
A government source told MailOnline: ‘No one in this Government will be rushing to give Bercow a peerage.
‘He likes to think of himself as a reforming Speaker, yet he’s been dogged by scandals and given up any pretence he is impartial.
‘With bullying claims, his Brexit bias and a willingness to ride roughshod over established procedures, this Speaker has undermined public faith in Parliament.’
But his successor Sir Lindsay Hoyle, 62, says he ‘deserves’ the honour because he did ‘great things’ during his 10 years in job, even if he is a controversial figure among leave voters.
As speaker of the Commons, whose job is to referee debates and ensure procedure is carried out properly, Bercow was supposed to remain neutral.
But after stepping down he spoke his mind freely by calling Brexit ‘the biggest foreign policy mistake in the post-war period’.
Unlike Bercow, one Conservative Party member who did receive a New Year Honour is former work and pensions secretary is Iain Duncan Smith, who was given a knighthood by Boris Johnson.
The move was met with uproar by opponents who said he had ‘stripped people of their dignity’ as architect of the ‘cruel’ Universal Credit welfare system.
Zac Goldsmith and Nicky Morgan were both given lifelong peerages earlier this month, but this was not part of the New Year Honours list, which hasn’t included any seats in the House of Lords since 2001.
