Former UK Parliamentary speaker John Bercow has made more than £500,000 in fees for public speeches and pundit appearances.
Bercow’s company Fedhead Ltd made £547,664 in its first year, although it owes £157,647 in tax and social security payments, the Daily Mail reported
The controversial former speaker, known for his booming voice and allegations of bullying his staff – which he denies – owns 76 per cent of the firm with the rest in the hands of his wife Sally.
Bercow reportedly earned over £60,000 for his one-night-stand as an election pundit for Sky News in December 2019.
He has also joined elite agency JLA Speaker Bureau, whose clients including former Labour Party spokesman Alastair Campbell and ex-government minister Ed Balls earn up to £25,000 per speech.
“After stepping down from Westminster John shares his insights on the future of our politics and the lessons learned about driving change,” reads Bercow’s blurb on the Fedhead website. “He is also a seasoned raconteur with countless stories from the corridors of power and an eye out for anyone ‘chuntering from a sedentary position’.”
In 2019 Bercow disregarded the century-old Erskine May rules of Parliamentary procedure to allow a series of indicative votes with multiple options. They were part of unsuccessful moves by opposition parties and Tory rebels to prevent Britain leaving the European Union (EU) in line with the 2016 referendum vote.
He stepped down as speaker in October 2019 as the Westminster wrangling to break the deadlock reached its endgame, with Tory Brexiteers openly accusing him of undermining the impartiality of the ‘Woolsack’ or speaker’s chair.
The following month he told a Foreign Press Association event in London: “I think that Brexit is the biggest foreign policy mistake in the post-war period,” after declaring “I don’t have to remain impartial now.”
Bercow was notably denied the seat in the House of Lords normally awarded to retired speakers by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, despite Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn nominating the former Conservative MP.