John Bercow, the Speaker of the House of Commons, is currently under criticism for bending precedent and allowing amendments to Brexit to pass. The question here is whether he is acting in his role as Speaker, or whether he is acting unconstitutionally by abusing his power to support Remain perspectives.
Part of the role of the Speaker is to balance debate, prevent the overpowering of one perspective by another and represent the views of the House rather than the Government. Normally, these work together, particularly in a majority government. In a minority government, as is currently the case, the Speaker finds more of a role. However, in this situation, it is that role to represent the views of the House which comes into conflict with the times.
Normally, a government is elected by the people and the majority view will be the view of the government and, generally, the view of the voters. In this case, despite the 2017 General Election, the government is a Conservative Party government, but is in reality a Brexit government. The novel scenario of Brexit has led to a situation in which generally Remain MPs do not feel that they represent the views of their generally Leave constituents on this issue.
Here we find the key conflict: that the views of the voters and the views of MPs – and indeed of the Government – are not the same. John Bercow, then, is in a difficult situation. By representing the views of the House, as is his role, he is not necessarily in harmony with the views of the Government or of the voters. Similarly, by allowing amendments which prevent the steamrolling of legislation by the minority Government, he reflects the majority of MPs and prevents overwhelming of views as he is required to do, but he treads a fine line on reflecting the views of voters.
Perhaps most key of all, John Bercow increasingly holds the keys to the Government’s handling of Brexit. Views on this are demonstrably not tied to views on Brexit in general, suggesting that Bercow’s views on the referendum could prove less important than ensuring the Government carries out parliamentary business appropriately; a particularly difficult task in these circumstances. The Government’s inflexibility leaves it in danger of effectively abdicating the role of managing the affairs of the House. As such, Bercow finds himself at the centre of this disconnect between MPs and voters. Given the minority Brexit government, his role to navigate the ever-narrowing line between the majority in the country and the majority in the house is more crucial than ever. Bercow must tread carefully if he is to stay in the good graces of both factions.
Global Retrospective 