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John Bercow

The life story of the most controversial Commons speaker of modern times. To some he's a hero of parliamentary independence, to others, he's a partisan rule-twister.

The life story of Commons Speaker John Bercow. He has announced he will stand down at the end of October after ten highly controversial years in the job. In turbulent political times, he’s proved to be a polarizing figure. For some, he is the backbencher’s champion - the most modernising Speaker in parliament’s history. Others accuse him of bias, and deliberately trying to stop Brexit.

Mark Coles talks to friends, colleagues and critics of Speaker Bercow - hearing about his long political journey which started on the far right - and how he wooed his now wife with feats of rhetoric. And with his thunderous shouts of ‘Order Order’ now mimicked and memed around the world, we hear how for some, he has become an unlikely social media superstar.

Producer Smita Patel
Researcher Darin Graham

Available now

14 minutes

Last on

Sun 15 Sep 2019 17:40

Broadcasts

  • Sat 14 Sep 2019 19:00
  • Sun 15 Sep 2019 05:45
  • Sun 15 Sep 2019 17:40

Podcast