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Original poster

John Bercow banned from Parliament for life for bullying…

33 replies

ElIie · 08/03/2022 11:58

I am wondering what other peoples thoughts are on this.

Everyone in Parliament knew he was a serial bully - particularly towards young women - yet so many people were prepared to over look it because he suited their politics.

The report shows in one instance “he ordered me to stay seated, so he was standing over me, and then threw the mobile phone right in front of me on my desk and it burst into hundreds of bits and I could feel them hitting me”.

Senior MPs, particularly those on the left who are self described feminists, such as Margaret Beckett justified keeping him in place as “Brexit is more important than bullying” and he was lauded as a near deity when he retired.

Sky news even had him as a co-host during the general election despite knowing about his reputation.

As recently as a few months ago he was warmly and publicly welcomed into the Labour Party.

I find this all pretty shocking tbh but I am glad it’s finally all out in the open and he has been suitably punished. I hope he gets expelled from the Labour Party as well.

OP posts:
skippy67 · 08/03/2022 12:08

And Priti Patel who was also found guilty of bullying gets to keep her job...

dangerrabbit · 08/03/2022 12:10

Interesting that Bercow who has stood up against Boris gets thrown out as a bully 🤔
Not saying it isn't true but is he really the only one or could there be another agenda?!

dashoflime · 08/03/2022 12:16

Oh Wow.
This really saddens me as I always like Bercow. It is shocking to hear about him behaving in that way.
There's an awful lot of bullying in parliament. It's endemic. I used to work for an MP and they were a great employer but you would hear stories.
I once attended a "Respecting People at Work" training put on by parliament. All the exercises were based on real incidents (anoymised) and some of them were horrible. The trainer said that based on a survey the level of bullying, sexual harrasment and racial and sex discrimination was about three times what you would expect in a corporate environment.

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Politics
Dyrne · 08/03/2022 12:20

Good, bullying should not be tolerated.

I was dismayed when I learnt of how much of a bully he was because I used to cheer when I saw clips of him putting people in their place in the Commons; but obviously some good points don’t erase the fact he’s a bully and needs to be removed from where he can cause harm.

Now, the next trick is for all serial bullies in that workplace to be removed, and not just when it suits people’s politics…

donquixotedelamancha · 08/03/2022 12:26

Pathetic that this wasn't done while he was an MP.

The standards system needs to be much quicker and more effective but the only way that will happen is if we punish MPs and parties in the polls for misdeeds.

Johnson is still very popular, despite the corruption and bullying. While that is the case there is no point blaming MPs.

hamstersarse · 08/03/2022 12:29

Because he was against Brexit he could get away with anything while in that position

It’s a perfect representation of the divisive and deliberately blind way in which politics exists right now.

“On my side for a big issue? That’ll do. Never mind the rest of your hideous character”

Satsumaeater · 08/03/2022 12:30

Now, the next trick is for all serial bullies in that workplace to be removed, and not just when it suits people’s politics

Indeed.

Justcallmebebes · 08/03/2022 12:31

Glad to see the back of him. Odious little man

Simonjt · 08/03/2022 12:33

Ah, so only certain bullies are punished, so sod the victims of the bullies who remain in post.

PigeonLittle · 08/03/2022 12:33

YANBU, i heard an ex employee of bercows being interviewed on the radio and frankly, he still sounded traumatised. And he made the point he'd worked years in the civil service with all manmer of temperaments. It was a very uncomfortable interview to listen to.

I'm left wing and cant abide him and his celebrity status.

RufustheFloralmissingreindeer · 08/03/2022 12:45

@Satsumaeater

Now, the next trick is for all serial bullies in that workplace to be removed, and not just when it suits people’s politics

Indeed.

Absolutely
SpinningTheSeedsOfLove · 08/03/2022 12:46

Bloody hell, that's an appalling litany of appalling acts and people in high places allowing it to continue.

Thoosa · 08/03/2022 12:47

I really have no idea what to make of it. Hopefully the report will shed some further light.

SpinningTheSeedsOfLove · 08/03/2022 12:47

I wonder if Priti Patel will have the nerve to condemn him.

Mitsouko67 · 08/03/2022 13:41

Thanks for sharing.

Good that has come out and might make others think twice.

balalake · 08/03/2022 13:50

I feel in this case justice has been done.

Unlike with others that have already been mentioned.

LizDoingTheCanCan · 08/03/2022 14:00

Margaret Beckett didn't say that, did she?

“Abuse is terrible, it should be stopped, behaviour should change anyway, whether the speaker goes or not."

“But yes, if it comes to the constitutional future of this country, the most difficult decision we have made, not since the war but possibly, certainly in all our lifetimes, hundreds of years, yes it trumps bad behaviour.”

It's easy to take isolated words out of context, or indeed, to completely misquote them. Removing the speaker at such a pivotal point in our history would have caused far more catastrophic consequences than him remaining in place. That's not condoning what he did, it's being pragmatic in a time of massive upheaval.

prh47bridge · 08/03/2022 17:16

What "catastrophic consequences"?

The reason Beckett wanted him to stay is that he was helping those trying to block Brexit which, although I personally was against it, the country had voted for. All those who voted to block any investigation into Bercow's behaviour were trying to block Brexit. Whilst "Brexit is more important than bullying" is not a direct quote from Beckett, that is clearly the sentiment of what she was saying. To be more precise, she and others considered keeping Bercow in place in the hope that he would help them block Brexit was more important than protecting employees from his bullying.

Viviennemary · 08/03/2022 17:22

Good. Glad they've caught up with him at last.

Will0wtree · 08/03/2022 17:29

He's been banned from holding a parliamentary pass but it doesn't seem to bother him much. Bercow responded by saying "At the end of it the panel has simply said that I should be denied a parliamentary pass which I have never applied for and do not want. That is the absurdity of its position. Don't fall for the establishment spin that I have been banned for life. I can still attend debates with the help of a friendly p[passholder or go as a member of the public."

Nightlystroll · 08/03/2022 17:39

I was dismayed when I learnt of how much of a bully he was because I used to cheer when I saw clips of him putting people in their place in the Commons; but obviously some good points don’t erase the fact he’s a bully and needs to be removed from where he can cause harm.

I think that "putting people in their place" was part of his bullying personality though. It just didn't grate because he was addressing people that were powerful in their own right (and maybe you already didn't like them!) It's a speaker's job to control MPs and all of them in my memory, George Thomas, Bernard Weatherill, Betty Boothroyd, Michael Martin managed to do that effectively and without causing grievances. All of them were clearly respected and spoken of fondly when they left office. Even Lindsay Hoyle has had cause to rebuke the govt but has not, as yet, caused ill feeling. Bercow seemed to revel in his authority and making a name fir himself. If he was like that in public and with people who were perfectly capable of standing up to him, you can only imagine what he was like behind the scenes.

Nightlystroll · 08/03/2022 17:47

He's been banned from holding a parliamentary pass but it doesn't seem to bother him much.

Yeah, it bothers him. If it didn't, he wouldn't have called the process “amateurish“. He'd have hoped to make money from his connections and having easy access to Parliament would have helped enable that. What use is he, when he's burned his relationship with the Tories, being looked at to be kicked out of Labour, and has to beg a third party to get him in?

Wintersonata · 08/03/2022 18:04

He is Chancellor of the University of Bedfordshire - will he be able to keep this post?

Wintersonata · 08/03/2022 18:09

I can still attend debates with the help of a friendly p[passholder or go as a member of the public

He’s got a skin like a rhino. If I was banned from my workplace for bullying I’d never show my face there again.
His poor family - I don’t suppose his bullying is exclusively in the workplace.

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