Former speaker of UK’s House of Commons John Bercow leaves Conservatives to join opposition Labour Party

LONDON June 20: Former speaker of Britain’s House of Commons John Bercow said he has left the Conservatives to join the opposition Labour Party, launching a blistering attack on Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

In an interview with the Observer newspaper published on Sunday, the former MP said the Conservative Party under Johnson was “reactionary, populist, nationalistic and sometimes even xenophobic”.

John Bercow, who stepped down as speaker in October 2019 after 10 years, said he joined the Labour Party a few weeks ago because he shared its values.

“I am motivated by support for equality, social justice and internationalism. That is the Labour brand,” he told the Observer.

“The conclusion I have reached is that this government needs to be replaced. The reality is that the Labour Party is the only vehicle that can achieve that objective. There is no other credible option.”

Bercow described the prime minister as “a successful campaigner but a lousy governor.”

“I don’t think he has any vision of a more equitable society, any thirst for social mobility or any passion to better the lot of people less fortunate than he is. I think increasingly people are sick of lies, sick of empty slogans, sick of a failure to deliver,” he told the newspaper.