Former U.K. Commons Speaker Bercow Defects to Labour: Observer

(Bloomberg) --

John Bercow, the former Conservative speaker of the House of Commons, has switched his allegiance to the Labour party, according to an interview with the Observer newspaper.

Bercow told the newspaper he sees the Conservative party as “reactionary, populist, nationalistic and sometimes even xenophobic.” He also said Prime Minister Boris Johnson lacks any vision for a more equitable society.

“I think increasingly people are sick of lies, sick of empty slogans, sick of a failure to deliver,” Bercow said.

Bercow’s rulings during Brexit debates made him among the most controversial speakers in recent memory, and his idiosyncratic style made him a minor celebrity. He stepped down in 2019.

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