Thursday January 10, 2018

The cradle of our democracy are the Houses of Parliament, and specifically the House of Commons, where our elected MPs sit and deal with running the country on behalf of those who put them there, the people of the UK.

One those is the Speaker of the House. He or she is the one that sits in that high chair, shouting 'order!' every so often when things get a little out of hand - which they frequently seem to do. By long-standing tradition, the Speaker is neutral and maintains the House with an even hand.

Unfortunately this tradition - a necessity - is under threat from the current occupant, John Bercow.

For some while he has been accused of betraying the office that he holds and his conduct in the latest row to engulf his tenure does raise questions.

He has also served as long as he said he would - actually he has gone beyond it.

It is time for him to step down and make way for somebody else.