Right-wing politicians and media intensified their criticism of the speaker of the British parliament’s main house yesterday after he voiced his opposition to US president Donald Trump addressing parliament.
John Bercow received cross-party support after he accused Trump of racism, sexism and attacks on judicial independence in a speech to the House of Commons on Monday, with Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn saying that Britain must “stand up” for its values.
However, criticism over the speaker’s intervention has since grown,
with Bercow being accused of failing to maintain the political neutrality his role requires.
Lawmaker Nadhim Zahawi, from Prime Minister Theresa May’s ruling Conservatives, asked Bercow how he could oppose Trump after accepting speeches in parliament by leaders of nations with well-documented human rights problems, such as China.
“I was surprised [by Bercow’s stance], like many,” Zahawi told the BBC.”I don’t think he wants to play politics but clearly that’s how it’s being interpreted.”
Right-wing newspaper the Daily Mail said Bercow had “boiled over with a self-important outburst”,, while another right-wing paper, The Daily Telegraph, said he “does not speak for Britain, just for his own monstrous ego”.May had “sensibly chosen to engage with Trump as a critical friend, eschewing the adolescent gesture politics Bercow practises”, the Telegraph said.
Former UK Independence Party leader Nigel Farage, a strong supporter of Trump, said the way Bercow “expressed political opinions devalues the office of speaker”.Trump is expected to make a state visit to Britain despite mounting opposition from politicians and members of the public, raising speculation that he could speak in parliament.
Bercow said he valued Britain’s relationship with the United States but felt “very strongly” that Britain’s “opposition to racism and to sexism” and “support for equality before the law and an independent judiciary are hugely important considerations in the House of Commons”. Bercow is one of three officials who would need to agree to any speech in parliament if requested by the government.
The speaker chairs debates and hosts guests, and is required to maintain political impartiality.
The Telegraph quoted unidentified sources as saying Bercow believed his role only required him to remain neutral on domestic politics.
Zahawi said Bercow’s statement “exposes him to the accusation of hypocrisy” after he introduced Chinese President Xi Jinping before his speech in parliament in October 2015.
“Many of my colleagues felt very uncomfortable about that because of China’s policy in Tibet,” he told the BBC.
Iraqi-born Zahawi said he had initially believed Trump’s entry ban on citizens of seven Muslim-majority nations would apply to him, and he now wants to confront Trump over the policy.
“I want President Trump to come,” Zahawi told the BBC. “I want to eyeball him, to say, ‘This is wrong.’”
Labour leader Corbyn joined many opposition lawmakers who praised Bercow for his stance and backed an online petition by 1.8mn people urging the government to downgrade Trump’s state visit.
“Bercow is right,” Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said on Twitter. “That racist should not be allowed to speak.”
The speaker of parliament’s upper house, the House of Lords, is expected to make a statement later on Tuesday on a possible speech by Trump.
John Bercow warned that the opportunity to speak in the prestigious Westminster Hall during a state visit “is not an automatic right, it is an earned honour” in an extraordinary intervention that divided MPs and annoyed No 10.
Bercow’s counterpart in the House of Lords, Lord Fowler, was understood to be irritated by the unexpected statement.
Bercow, whose role is non-political, told MPs that he did not have the power to block the state visit invitation extended to Trump by Theresa May, but made clear that he would use his authority to prevent what is considered one of the high points of the official trip.
The speaker made clear that he was always against the idea of Trump making a speech in the same hall that Barack Obama did in 2012, but said recent policies had even more determined to block the move.