RICHARD LITTLEJOHN: Sending these two to the Lords is out of order!
RICHARD LITTLEJOHN: Sending John Bercow and Tom Watson to the House of Lords is well out of order!
Two of the most reviled politicians in Britain have been nominated for life peerages by lame duck Labour leader O. J. Corbyn.
If the appointments are approved, John Bercow and Tom Watson will be installed as members of the House of Lords.
When Boris Johnson won a thumping majority in December, we were entitled to think we’d seen the last of this unsavoury pair.
John Bercow has embarked on a new career as a circus act, recently demeaning himself yelling ‘Order, Order!’ on a late-night Italian TV show. He also plans to cash in his notoriety on the after-dinner speaking circuit. The Lords can live without him
At least they would no longer be leeching off the public purse. Yet now they’ll be able to claim a daily allowance of £313 and play a part in shaping future legislation, despite nobody having voted for either of them.
No two men in the last Parliament did more to bring politics into disrepute.
As Speaker, Bercow jettisoned all pretence of independence and twisted Commons procedure in his partisan attempts to stop Brexit.
Watson, the self-appointed Nonce Finder General, abused parliamentary privilege to wage a demented campaign which destroyed the lives of innocent men falsely accused of sex crimes.
In November he announced ‘for personal reasons’ he would not fight the general election, which would almost certainly have seen him ejected from his West Bromwich East seat by the Tories.
If Watson had any sense of shame or decency, he would have slithered back under whichever stone he emerged from — and stayed there. If he does make any money from his new book, he should be forced to donate all profits to the families of his victims, some of whom died before they could clear their names
On what grounds can Corbyn conceivably claim that either Bercow or Watson are fit and proper candidates to grace the benches of the Upper House?
Bercow did all he could to defy the democratically expressed will of the British people to leave the EU.
He has forfeited any right to have a say in the future governance of our country.
Why does Corbyn believe Watson, his former deputy, deserves to be elevated to the peerage? As a reward for services to perverting the course of justice?
Watson was in cahoots with a convicted paedophile and a dodgy ‘news’ agency bringing allegations against predominantly Conservative members of the Establishment.
He put pressure on Scotland Yard to pursue investigations into outrageous claims made by a known fantasist, smearing decent men with impeccable histories of public service, as rapists and murderers.
While their lives and those of their families were ruined, Watson has been able to walk away from the wreckage and reinvent himself as a diet guru and author.
When Boris Johnson won a thumping majority in December, we were entitled to think we’d seen the last of this unsavoury pair. At least they would no longer be leeching off the public purse. Yet now they’ll be able to claim a daily allowance of £313 and play a part in shaping future legislation, despite nobody having voted for either of them [File photo]
Frankly, it is stomach-churning to see the way in which broadcasters, in particular, fawn at the feet of this odious smear-monger while ignoring his disgusting track record.
‘Oh, Tom, you look great. How did you lose all that weight? Can’t wait to read your new novel.’
If Watson had any sense of shame or decency, he would have slithered back under whichever stone he emerged from — and stayed there.
If he does make any money from his new book, he should be forced to donate all profits to the families of his victims, some of whom died before they could clear their names.
The idea that he will soon be in the Lords is revolting. Presumably, it’s a pay-off from Corbyn for not rocking the Labour boat during the election campaign.
Meanwhile, Bercow has embarked on a new career as a circus act, recently demeaning himself yelling ‘Order, Order!’ on a late-night Italian TV show. He also plans to cash in his notoriety on the after-dinner speaking circuit. The Lords can live without him.
So can this anti-democratic outrage be stopped? Perhaps. All nominations have to be ratified by the House of Lords Appointments Commission.
They are vetted to verify that potential life peers ‘ensure the highest standards of propriety’ and satisfy the commission that ‘the past conduct of the nominee would not reasonably be regarded as bringing the House of Lords into disrepute’.
No two men in the last Parliament did more to bring politics into disrepute. As Speaker, Bercow jettisoned all pretence of independence and twisted Commons procedure in his partisan attempts to stop Brexit
Neither Bercow nor Watson would pass the second part of that test. Bercow is still under investigation over bullying allegations made by his staff.
There’s also a convention that leaders only nominate members of their own party. Even though Bercow bent over backwards to favour Labour, he is still nominally a Conservative.
The Prime Minister has already said that he has no intention of granting a peerage to Bercow.
Boris may have difficulty stopping Corbyn’s nominees — who also include his chief of staff Karie Murphy, above, currently subject to the equality commission’s inquiry into Labour anti-semitism
Unfortunately, Boris ignored my advice to dispense altogether with a dissolution honours list.
That was when the Lib Dems were touting their ex-leader Jo Swinson for a seat in the Lords, despite the fact that she lost her own seat and led them to humiliating defeat.
He went ahead and enobled Tories Zac Goldsmith and Nicky Morgan, so they could continue in government despite no longer being MPs.
As a result, Boris may have difficulty stopping Corbyn’s nominees — who also include his chief of staff Karie Murphy, currently subject to the equality commission’s inquiry into Labour anti-semitism.
The fact is the last thing the overstuffed Lords needs is even more members.
It is crying out for fundamental reform, not just shifting the whole shooting match to York as a sop to voters in the North.
For too long, the upper chamber has been a lucrative sinecure for failed politicians and party hacks.
The Lords is an undemocratic anachronism, which spent much of the last Parliament trying to frustrate Brexit.
Boris can prove he is serious about reforming the second chamber by refusing to create any more peers and doing all he can to scupper Corbyn’s nominees.
We live in a post-shame age, but the prospect of that gurning gargoyle Bercow and the smug, self-reverential Nonce Finder General preening themselves in the Lords is a bridge too far.
The election result was supposed to mark the moment voters took back control from the rotten, arrogant political class. Those politicians who did their damndest to defy the will of the people were booted out.
Others, like Bercow and Watson, scuttled away in disgrace. If they are now allowed to resurrect their political careers in the House of Lords, it will send a depressingly clear signal that nothing’s really changed.
All airspace around Heathrow was closed for 30 minutes at the weekend, causing flights to be diverted and leaving passengers stranded for several hours.
The RAF said it ordered an exclusion zone following ‘Luftwaffe’ activity at nearby Northolt aerodrome, formerly a World War II fighter base. Run that by me again.
I know we’re only ten days away from Brexit, but the Germans aren’t taking it that badly, are they?
How long before the second Battle of Britain gets into full swing and commercial flights are grounded because of dogfights between Spitfires and Messerschmitts over London?
You can just see Boris swooping out of the clouds, like Snoopy, white silk scarf trailing. Bandits at four’o’clock! And if trade talks break down, watch out for Doodlebugs.
The RAF said it ordered an exclusion zone following ‘Luftwaffe’ activity at nearby Northolt aerodrome, formerly a World War II fighter base
The (former) royal couple’s decision to relocate to Canada is bad news for Meghan lookalikes — so-called ‘Meg-ringers’ who can earn up to £800 a day.
Demand is expected to fall dramatically. That’s showbiz.
The night after the 1997 election I spotted a familiar face propping up a bar in Soho. Turned out he was a professional John Major lookalike drowning his sorrows after Labour’s landslide victory.
Resigned to his fate, he was packing his bags and heading back to Motherwell.
Oh, yes!
The morning I got my Bishops in a twist…
Red faces all round at Radio 4’s PM programme, after Evan Davis found himself interviewing the wrong Robert Shapiro — a Democratic Party adviser, rather than the more famous Shapiro, O.J Simpson’s lawyer.
Pity they didn’t get hold of the singer Helen Shapiro instead. She could have sung Walkin’ Back To Happiness. Woopah, oh, yeah yeah!
Pity they didn’t get hold of the singer Helen Shapiro instead. She could have sung Walkin’ Back To Happiness. Woopah, oh, yeah yeah! Still, these mistake can easily happen
Still, these mistake can easily happen.
Years ago, I was working on the newsdesk at London’s Evening Standard, early one morning, when a big story broke in Winchester.
I can’t remember exactly what. Train crash or something.
I asked a colleague, Reg Smith, to get me the local freelance news agency, called Bishop of Winchester.
Every town had one — Ferrari of Dartford, Pryke of Luton and so on.
‘Bishop of Winchester on line three, Rich,’ shouted Reg. The call went something like this.
‘We need 500 words in 20 minutes.’
‘Pardon?’
‘On the train crash.’
‘What train crash?’
‘The train crash in Winchester.’
‘I suppose I could see what I can do.’
‘Eh? I am talking to Bishop of Winchester?’
‘You’re certainly talking to the Bishop of Winchester,’ replied the puzzled voice on the other end.
Brrrrrrrrr…
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