SPEAKER BERCOW MUST GO.

With any luck, Speaker Bercow has finally shot himself mortally in the foot.

The role of the Speaker of the House of Commons is to act as Chairman of debates and to speak only as directed by the House, with as little fuss as possible. Speaker Bercow has spent years attempting to redefine this role and to make himself the centre of attention but now seems to have come unstuck.

A week or so ago, he made a speech in the House which was utterly inappropriate; he expressed his own personal views regarding the proposed forthcoming state visit of President Trump. In doing so, he made clear his own personal opposition to the President, which is wholly outwith his position so to do.

In the last couple of days, it's been revealed that he has made known, in public, his own personal views regarding the European Union; again and whatever his private views may be, it is wholly inappropriate for a Speaker to act in this way. Of course, Mr Speaker may have his own private views but he is not permitted to voice them; this is not an arbitrary view but follows the rules of the House of Commons which are designed to ensure, as far as possible, the Chair's impartiality.

Bercow has destroyed any belief in his impartiality and must, therefore, depart. However, his arrogance and pomposity make it unlikely that he will go without a fight, indeed, it's even possible that he has engineered this situation quite deliberately in order to force a vote of confidence in him, knowing that, whatever his shortcomings, he may well still win such a vote. If that was to be the case, he would then have the perfect basis for remaining in office for a further 3 years and well beyond his own self-imposed limit of 9 years.

Bercow is a disgrace to his office. If our representatives in Parliament don't recognize this, what good are they ? He must go and the sooner the better.