Contextualising the situation doesn’t excuse it either no matter how lofty the claims made for his intentions.

What's your point?

I am not "contextualising the situation" of his alleged bullying at all. If he is found to have acted inappropriately then no doubt he will be suitably reprimanded. It's a separate issue.

I am putting that issue alongside the much bigger one of his contribution to the preservation of our system of Parliamentary democracy. In that context it is a bag of nothing. Many politicians have character flaws. In some ways it comes with the territory. Churchill was a bully and a drunk who was subject to periods of intense depression. It didn't stop him being a great man.

For the avoidance of doubt any comments in response to a previous post are directed to its ideas and not at any, or all, posters personally.

And who decides the legitimacy of the contribution or the intention behind it? You are still trying to justify his behaviour. As you are fond of saying to everyone else, perhaps you don’t understand. Please don’t bother replying that you do.

Ah, John Bercow

Such an interesting character.

A Conservative. Wisbech was wrong, he was clapped by the Conservatives yesterday, just not the front bench. You know, that lot that are trying some 'innovative' approaches to get their way and who have been frustrated in some of those attempts. I wonder why they didn't clap him.

Perhaps he is indeed too much of a character but of course we live in 'interesting times'. He has certainly upset the right wing of the Conservatives over the years, especially the more than odious Angela Leadsom. Was he therefore smeared? I don't think he would have been concerned about someone standing against him at the next election, just more fluff from the Government. After all, Farage didn't even come as runner up to him, that was a pro Europe candidate.

Who knows whether there was any truth in the bullying allegations. Certainly it seemed like a lot of noise with no substance at the time. Angus Sinclair appears to have been poor at his job. The non-disclosure is a non-issue, he was given a standard settlement agreement when he left.

What I will say - strongly - against Bercow is that he and his son never miss Arsenal home games. What kind of person is that.

By the way, let us not forget Bernard Weatherill, Croydon's very own Bercow.

This is also very interesting. From Bercow's manifesto in 2009.

In reference to his decision to stand, Bercow said:

"I wanted it because I felt that there was a task to be undertaken and that's about strengthening backbench involvement and opportunity in parliament, and helping parliament get off its knees and recognise that it isn't just there as a rubber-stamping operation for the government of the day, and as necessary and appropriate to contradict and expose the government of the day."

Well, this certainly proved his prescience.

Remember that Bercow is the first Speaker who is Jewish, the first Speaker to have been elected by an exhaustive ballot and the first Speaker not to wear traditional court robes while presiding over the House of Commons.

I didn't say it was inappropriate, I just described what you were doing.

What is inappropriate is the for speaker to have performed his duties as this guy did.....So that one side of the house liked him but the other didn't.

Before Bercow, I had never known the speaker role to become politicized.....he did that and he deserves criticism for it.

'Who are you and how did you get in here? I'm a locksmith. And, I'm a locksmith.' (Leslie Nielsen)