Big-name speaker of the term tonight: John Bercow, Speaker of the House of Commons, came to talk about MPs’ expenses and recovering trust in Parliament. I won’t comment too much on the main talk, because I was involved in inviting him and know one of his advisors, but Stuart Simmons isn’t so constrained:
‘Bercow was one of Cullen’s biggest signings, trumpeted at the top of the termcard. But he turned out to be just a bit rubbish. His talk was pre-written and delivered in an incredibly dull, monotonous voice – he clearly hasn’t yet mastered the skill of public speaking. Several member of the audience fell asleep. He talked about how the expenses scandal had destroyed trust in Parliament, and how Sir Thomas Legg and Sir Paul Kennedy are cracking down. That’s all fine, but he could have said it in ten minutes, rather than thirty. His jokes were crap too.’
This is, I feel, a little unfair. Bercow’s main speech wasn’t perhaps quite as engaging as it could have been, but his discussion of the expenses issue was considerably more sophisticated than almost anything you’ll read in the press. His Q&A session at the end was much better, and he was refreshingly frank. He did get skewered by James Dray though. Bercow answered a question on electoral reform by stating that he hadn’t conducted an academic study on whether it increased turnout, but he had seen nothing to suggest that it did. Dray, moments later: ‘Well, I have conducted an academic study into whether proportional representation boosts turnout, and I can tell you that there’s a very strong correlation.’ Wonderful.
