THE former Tory MP and speaker of the House Commons John Bercow has switched allegiances to Labour with a scathing attack on his former party.
Bercow told the Observer that regards the Conservative party in government today as “reactionary, populist, nationalistic and sometimes even xenophobic”.
After 10 years as the Commons speaker, Bercow stepped down from the role in 2019 and says he joined the Labour Party a few weeks ago due to now sharing its values.
“I am motivated by support for equality, social justice and internationalism. That is the Labour brand,” he said. “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.”
READ MORE: Boris Johnson tries to play down by-election loss to the LibDems
Bercow also launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Boris Johnson saying that despite the PM's commitment to "levelling up", he has no interest in people less privileged than himself.
‘‘He is a successful campaigner but a lousy governor,” he said. “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.’’
It comes after the Tories unexpectedly lost the Chesham and Amersham by-election with the LibDems overturning a 16,000 vote majority. The loss raised questions within the party of whether Johnson can appeal to voters from all backgrounds.
Bercow said he believed many traditional Tories were dismayed at Johnson's government's failure to follow up on promises.
He continued: “I think what it [the byelection result] tells us is that there is very considerable distrust on the part of voters in the south of England of this government. I don’t accept the thesis that this was just an anti-HS2 vote. I think that is very convenient for the government, but it suffers from the disadvantage of being wrong. I think people in very large numbers are disappointed, in some cases disgusted, by what this government has done.”
He was also highly critical of the Tories' treatment of parliament, suggesting that they do not respect truth
“I regard the government’s treatment of parliament as a disgrace," Bercow said "I believe the truth matters. I believe parliament matters. And I believe that telling the truth in and to parliament matters.
READ MORE: WATCH: John Bercow hits out at Boris Johnson for 'misleading' Parliament
"There is growing, extensive and incontrovertible evidence that the government is disrespecting parliament, telling untruths to parliament and bypassing parliament. That is wrong. Period. Some people may not immediately think that it matters. It does, but it is a slow-burn issue.”
While unsure that Labour, under Keir Starmer, could oust the Tories from Westminster rule, but said he is hopeful, describing Starmer as "decent, honourable and intelligent and he came into politics as public service".
He added: "I believe that Keir Starmer is motivated by an earnest and consuming desire to better the lot of the vast majority of the people of this country who do not enjoy the privileges that he does.”
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