Bercow, John Simon, 1963–, British politician. A member of the Conservative party, he was first elected to Parliament in 1997. In 2009, Bercow was elected speaker of the House of Commons, a post he held until 2019. Although the speaker's role is that of a nonpartisan referee of parliamentary debates, Bercow became notable during the debates on Britain's exit from the European Union for permitting parliamentary challenges to the government and generally asserting the prerogatives of Parliament, which led to criticism from Conservatives for a lack of impartiality. Bercow also was accused of failing to control bullying and harassment in the legislative body, and of engaging in bullying himself. He retired from Parliament in 2019.
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