Knives are out for Speaker John Bercow

Commons Speaker John Bercow is at the centre of another row, this time purportedly calling Andrea Leadsom a ‘Stupid Woman’.

The allegations come just a week after the Speaker was accused of bullying his staff, a charge that he strongly denied.

The Speaker’s office has admitted that “strong and differing views were expressed”, but further unconfirmed reports say that Mr Bercow also muttered under his breath that Leadsom is ‘F**king useless’.

Downing Street responded strongly, saying that, if proven to be true, the remarks would be “unacceptable”.

The Prime Minister’s office did however distance itself by adding that if an official complaint was to be made, that it should be investigated.

Sky News on the other hand are quoting a source close to Ms Leadsom as saying that she will not be making a formal complaint, and that she is “entirely focused on getting the bullying and harassment processes up and running”.

Is Time Up for Speaker John Bercow?

Two strong allegations in the space of a week in politics means only one thing – the wagons are circling and the knives are out.

History tells us that in British politics, once the dominoes start to fall the outcome is invariably inevitable.

The issue for Speaker Bercow is that the timing couldn’t be worse. When he was elected to the role of Speaker, he publicly said that he would serve for nine years – that was nine years ago.