Labour Putting John Bercow Forward For A Peerage, Report Says

Opposition sources declined to comment on the claims.
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Labour is nominating former Commons speaker John Bercow for a peerage, according to reports.

Sources in the opposition party did not deny the claim to the PA news agency, and declined to comment on the situation.

Such a move would be remarkable given that Bercow was a Tory MP, before being elevated to presiding over the main Parliamentary chamber.

Bercow drew fire from a number of prominent Brexiteers over the past few years as he was accused on helping support a Remain agenda in the Commons.

It was reported that Tory high command was so angered by Bercow’s stance that it took the highly unusual decision not to offer a retiring Commons speaker a place in the House of Lords.

Britain's Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn leaves the Labour Party offices in London, Monday Jan. 6, 2020, after a meeting of the party's National Executive Committee. The opposition Labour Party will announce its new leader on April 4. (Dominic Lipinski/PA via AP)
Britain's Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn leaves the Labour Party offices in London, Monday Jan. 6, 2020, after a meeting of the party's National Executive Committee. The opposition Labour Party will announce its new leader on April 4. (Dominic Lipinski/PA via AP)
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However, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has stepped in and nominated Bercow for a peerage, according to the Sunday Times.

The newspaper also stated that Corbyn had also put forward former Labour deputy leader Tom Watson, with whom he had an often tense working relationship, for a peerage.

Corbyn’s former key aide and chief of staff Karie Murphy has also been nominated for a place in the upper house, according to the report.

Labour sources would not comment on any of the claims.

The newspaper said that the trio appear on an eight-strong list of dissolution honours nominations put forward by the Labour chief, who will quit his post in April after leading the party to two successive general election defeats.

Vetting will begin on the nominations soon, the newspaper said.

A nomination for Murphy could also prove controversial given the inquiry into alleged instances of anti-Semitism in the Labour Party by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC).

Labour MP, and longstanding critic of Corbyn, Siobhain McDonagh, endorsed a Tweet by the group Hope Not Hate, which stated: “No one who is a subject in the EHRC investigation should be ennobled before the full EHRC report is released.”

Referring to the Tweet, McDonagh said: “A very reasonable view don’t you think?”

Former British House of Commons speaker, John Bercow, speaks during an interview with Associated Press in London, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2019. John Bercow says Brexit is a historic mistake and the country should not be bound by the close 2016 vote to leave the European Union. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)
Former British House of Commons speaker, John Bercow, speaks during an interview with Associated Press in London, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2019. John Bercow says Brexit is a historic mistake and the country should not be bound by the close 2016 vote to leave the European Union. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)
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