Top 32 Quotes & Sayings by John Bercow

Explore popular quotes and sayings by a British politician John Bercow.

Last updated on September 20, 2024.

John Simon Bercow is a former British politician who was Speaker of the House of Commons from 2009 to 2019, and Member of Parliament (MP) for Buckingham between 1997 and 2019. A member of the Conservative Party prior to becoming Speaker, he was the first MP since Selwyn Lloyd in 1971 to be elected Speaker without having been a Deputy Speaker. After resigning as Speaker in 2019 and opting not to seek re-election as MP for Buckingham in the 2019 general election, Bercow left Parliament. In 2021, he joined the Labour Party but was suspended in 2022.

British - Politician | Born: January 19, 1963

Source: Wikipedia

It is quite wrong for party conferences to be used as an excuse for the Commons not to sit. Conferences could be held at weekends.

John Bercow

If someone is being very cheeky, it can be quite fun to deal with that situation.

John Bercow

I don't think that people are disinterested or uninterested in politics. I think very often they are disengaged from the formal political process. To some extent they are suspicious or even despairing of formal politics as a means to give expression and effect to what they want.

John Bercow

I was proud to be a Tory Member of Parliament for twelve years, proud to represent Buckingham as a Tory, proud to have voted with my party 99% of the time as the record shows.

John Bercow

Sally is my wife, but not my chattel or my property.

John Bercow

A legislature cannot be effective while suffering from public scorn.

John Bercow

Even youngish men can acquire wisdom as time goes by.

John Bercow

I'm not in the business of warning people.

John Bercow

If you asked me if I'd rather be Speaker or a very senior minister, I'd say Speaker.

John Bercow

When I first started out in politics I was, what you might describe as, a hard right Conservative.

John Bercow

I'm not psychic. I cannot know what is in the mind of particular public figures.

John Bercow

I'm supremely uninterested as to what is written in many of the newspapers.

John Bercow

There is no denying or hiding the fact that over the years I moved from well on the right of the Conservative Party, much much more to its left, and therefore to the centre of the poltical spectrum.

John Bercow

I do strongly believe myself that members of the government who sit in the House of Lords should be accountable to the elected House because otherwise there is a democratic deficit, and that is wrong.

John Bercow

There are people who are just very, very sniffy and snobby and have always sort of looked down their noses at me.

John Bercow

Lying to a committee is a very grave abuse, and there ought to be a clear punishment.

John Bercow

I never aspired to be Speaker simply so I could say, 'I am the Speaker of the House of Commons,' and tell my children that.

John Bercow

I don't want to crawl over the entrails of past disputes.

John Bercow

For far too long the House of Commons has been run as little more than a private club by and for gentleman amateurs.

John Bercow

I've never been much given to little social cliques.

John Bercow

I think the record shows that as Speaker, I have taken the lead in cleaning up politics.

John Bercow

I am seeking every day to restore faith in Parliament - to ensure we have a House of Commons which is representative, effective and reconnected to the people we serve.

John Bercow

It's a cowardly form of politics to use my spouse to beat me.

John Bercow

The prime minister's job is to captain his team, his party and his government.

John Bercow

The Conservatives must realise that being sceptical is different from being phobic in what is an interdependent world.

John Bercow

I think the state opening of Parliament is an incredibly important occasion, and broadly speaking, the way in which it's done is an invaluable tradition.

John Bercow

One consistent thing in an otherwise inconsistent career is that I've always been passionate about parliament.

John Bercow

There's no point in worrying about things you can't influence.

John Bercow

I said that if I hadn't been a politician, I'd have liked to be a barrister, or an academic. My beloved wife said: 'You'd be a very good barrister and a hopeless academic.' I said 'Why?' She said: 'Because you're not an original thinker.'

John Bercow

I pride myself on being courteous to people, and trying to fashion good relations.

John Bercow

Fairness is not about statistical equality.

John Bercow

Possibly the fact that I was physically quite feeble, a relatively short little fellow, attracted me to that idea of a very authoritative and aggressive version of Conservative politics.

John Bercow

Top 32 Quotes & Sayings by John Bercow

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