London, United Kingdom:
The colourful former speaker of Britain’s House of Commons John Bercow stated he has left the Conservatives to join the opposition Labour Party, launching a blistering attack on Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
In an interview with the Observer newspaper published on Sunday, the former MP stated the Conservative Party beneath Johnson was “reactionary, populist, nationalistic and sometimes even xenophobic”.
Bercow, who stepped down as speaker in October 2019 right after 10 years, stated he joined the Labour Party a handful of weeks ago for the reason that he shared its values.
“I am motivated by support for equality, social justice and internationalism. That is the Labour brand,” he told the Observer.
“The conclusion I have reached is that this government needs to be replaced. The reality is that the Labour Party is the only vehicle that can achieve that objective. There is no other credible option.”
Bercow described the prime minister as “a successful campaigner but a lousy governor.”
“I don’t think he has any vision of a more equitable society, any thirst for social mobility or any passion to better the lot of people less fortunate than he is. I think increasingly people are sick of lies, sick of empty slogans, sick of a failure to deliver,” he told the newspaper.
Bercow served as a Conservative MP for Buckingham for 12 years ahead of getting elected speaker in 2009, becoming the youngest particular person to hold the part for one hundred years.
Famed for his shouts of “Order, order!” to bring raucous MPs in line, Bercow identified himself as the man in the middle of more than 3 years of fiery parliamentary debates on Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union.
He enraged the ruling Conservatives with a series of choices they saw as attempting to stymie Brexit and favouring the “Remain” side.
The 58-year-old vehemently denied ever taking sides but earned praise from pro-Europeans and a international following with his rulings and outsized character.
His later years as speaker have been overshadowed by allegations of bullying parliamentary employees, accusations he denies.
Labour’s former shadow chancellor John McDonnell stated Bercow had been “scrupulously fair” in his remedy of MPs.
“He won our respect, especially for his fight to protect the rights of Parliament. I wholeheartedly welcome him into the Labour party,” McDonnell tweeted.
For the Conservatives nonetheless, pensions minister Guy Opperman stated: “Labour are welcome to Bercow.”
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