Flippin' 'eck, it's Bercow!

Yes, John Bercow has come through to be the voice of the Commons, the Speaker, the choice of the "reformers". This must be the first election for Speaker where the candidates were utterly eager to do the job. No more so than in Bercow's case. It is said that the bulk of the Conservative benches can't stand him. If Nadine Dorries is anything to go by, then that is true. He has a lot going against him. First, he isn't very tall. Tories are rather suspicious of diminutive men. Second, he has changed his views from Monday Club stalwart to New Labour admirer (it is alleged!). But one thing that Tories detect and fear most is political greasing. They don't mind a bit of honest armtwisting. They tolerate outright dissent on occasions. However, sucking up to gain advancement is very much frowned upon. Bercow has been accused of this.

He has also been accused of flipping his homes. I doubt though that the papers accusing him of this will have much of it stick. He appears above all this now. However, come the general election things may be a bit different. He may have a whopping majority in Buckingham, but that was Tory voters then. Would they be so keen to vote for a flipping independent next time? It could be interesting.

Buckingham has enjoyed a mixed bag of MPs. They had the delights of Robert Maxwell. John Radcliffe, who has the famous Oxford hospital named after him, was elected for Buckingham in 1713, but died the next year. Given than John Bercow will be standing for election under the banner of "The Speaker" and that both Labour and Liberal Democrat candidates will stand aside, it is open to others to mount a challenge. Horace King found he had a challenge in 1970 from the then little known National Democratic Party.

Opportunity arises for anti-sleaze candidates. Also, those out to peel away the Conservative vote, such as UKIP. It could be an interesting election. John Bercow may well need to don his reformer's habit in case the electors of Buckingham get the habit of reforming their constituency representation.