Speaker Bercow: Britain Could Leave Without A Deal, But Not Without 'Explicit' Endorsement From Parliament

If Brexit happens — whenever that might be — Britain’s House of Commons will have to explicitly endorse the deal. One can expect to see John Bercow, speaker of the House of Commons, making sure proper protocol is met.

Concerns have been brewing over how Prime Minister Boris Johnson will act as the deadline for a Brexit deal fast approaches. If a new deal isn’t agreed upon, Johnson is insistent on being prepared to leave the European Union without a deal on October 31. The House of Commons recently passed a measure aimed at stopping him from doing so.

Simply put, Bercow says, Britain cannot just leave the European Union by default. The House of Commons will “explicitly and emphatically and unmistakably” lead the terms of Brexit, he says.

Bercow lays out three possibilities. First is a withdrawal agreement approved by Parliament, leading to an exit with a deal.

Second is a withdrawal from the EU without a deal — but only with clear and definite approval by the House of Commons to leave without one, he says.

“If the House of Commons explicitly endorses the idea of a no deal Brexit, which in other words, it doesn't happen by default, it happens by explicit endorsement,” he says.

He says the third scenario would be Parliament forgoing a deal, refusing to leave the EU without one, and then asking for an extension to “find a route to a potential mechanism to sort the issue once and for all.”

A potential withdrawal agreement must include discussion around a myriad of issues, Bercow says, from trade, to security cooperation and cultural relations.

The ins and outs of Brexit are complicated. Bercow, who is leaving his role within weeks after a decade on the job, admits no one truly knows what will become of it.

“Anybody who predicts with certainty or even alacrity the eventual resolution of Brexit and when that will be,” he says, “is either an extraordinarily clever person or frankly a reckless fool.”

On his role as Speaker of the House of Commons

“The principle function of the speaker of the House of Commons is to chair in the chamber, to chair prime minister's questions, to chair of a question time sessions, to chair the delivery of ministerial statements, to chair debates on a vast miscellany of different topics. In that capacity, the speaker is not a player in the match but its referee or umpire. That's the function of the speaker, not to try to secure one outcome or another but to facilitate the House of Commons in order that it can arrive at the decision which by a clear majority it wishes to reach.”

On what he says to those who think he’s gotten too political in his role of Speaker

“Well I simply reject that charge. I don't think I've been too political at all. I have not argued for a particular point of view on the Brexit issue in the chamber of the House of Commons. At different times, there have been important minorities to accommodate in the debate so the Brexiteers had their chance when they were in a minority. Now the dissenting view of the soft Brexiteers or the would-be Remainers has also to be heard. So the point that I'm making to you is that the speaker has to try to ensure that all of the different voices are heard. It's not for the speaker to implement the government's position. It's not for the speaker to implement the opposition's position. It's not for the speaker to implement any particular view. The speaker's job is to try to ensure that the different points of view are heard. I think the truth of the matter is, if I may put it this way very fairly, is that sometimes when people have their own view heard when they desperately need it to be heard, they're pleased. When somebody else's view which is in very hot competition with their own is given an airing when they would prefer it not to be, they're quick to criticize. The speaker's job is not to court popularity but to try to facilitate colleagues.”

On his famous “Order!”

“Oh I think everybody puts his or her own stamp on it. My predecessor Michael Martin was a Scottish Labour Member of Parliament and he had a distinctive Scottish accent. He said the word in his way. Betty Boothroyd, the first and so far the only female speaker, had her own iteration of the word. Everybody does it differently. I don't say that mine is preferable to anybody else's but it's simply mine.”

On whether he’s allowed to have a public personal opinion on Brexit

“Not in terms of the outcome, only in terms of the process. I can have a view about the process and in my view it is absolutely critical in the efficient, effective and responsible functioning of a parliamentary democracy that the House of Commons takes ownership of the issue and has its say.”

On whether the U.K. has lost any of its global stature through the Brexit process

“What I will say to you is look I have heard that view. We are really approaching only the end of the beginning. We're talking here, it's important for your listeners to be conscious of this, about a potential withdrawal agreement to be submitted to the House for its possible approval. That is really stage one. Even if there were a withdrawal agreement approved, and that remains to be seen. There is a whole discussion to be had about trade relations, about security cooperation, about cultural relations between the United Kingdom and the European Union, and the approach that the United Kingdom adopts to the rest of the world. So I think it is very important that as soon as possible in the interests of a wider set of issues, a whole gamut of topics being addressed by government and Parliament, there is bandwidth for education and for transport and the fight against crime and doing what we can to bolster our social care system and so on and so forth. But the idea that it is a question in the next few weeks of simply sorting Brexit, the issue of our future relationship with Europe and with the rest of the world as a consequence of this subject having been addressed will be a staple feature of U.K. political discourse for a long time to come.”

On what he’ll miss most about his job

“The cut and thrust of debate. Listening to my colleagues. Disagreeing, sometimes fiercely, occasionally angrily, putting their points with real passion. I respect that and although of course I understand a lot of people are very frustrated, I hugely admire my colleagues. I believe the House of Commons is a wonderful place. It is overwhelmingly filled by people who are motivated by their notion of the national interest, by their perception of the public good and by their duty, not as delegates but as representatives to do what they judged to be right for our country. If you do for a living something that causes you to jump out of bed in the morning looking forward to the day ahead, as I've done for the last 22 years as a member of parliament and in the last 10 as speaker, frankly you are blessed. I have no plans to die tomorrow but if I were to die tomorrow, I would die happy feeling I've been incredibly lucky and that's what causes me to say to all of my colleagues — those who've supported me and those who have not — thank you.”

Alex Ashlock produced this story and edited it for broadcast with Kathleen McKenna. Serena McMahon adapted it for the web.