Nigel Farage’s first speech to British Parliament this week was anything but peaceful, with some MPs booing him as he criticised Parliament’s past actions in trying to overturn Brexit.
The House of Commons elected a speaker at its first meeting on Tuesday afternoon after electing new members in last week’s general election. The session was abbreviated to give party leaders from each party a chance to make short speeches welcoming the new speaker to the House.
While new MPs often wait weeks to make their first speech in the House of Commons, Farage was asked to speak on his first day as leader of Reform UK, where he offered heaps of praise on re-elected Speaker Lindsay Hoyle but delivered a scathing attack on his predecessor. Farage drew laughter from the crowd with a self-deprecating opening remark, referring to the fact that he had been elected at the weekend in the party’s eighth House of Commons election since 1994: “We’re newcomers, we don’t have the experience of their parliament, but some of us have tried many times for years to get here.”
Anger as Chancellor Bercow and EU President circumvent UK government to block complete Brexit https://t.co/xbhanvIY79
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) October 10, 2019
Farage said that as an outsider to Westminster, he and others viewed Hoyle as “bringing great dignity to the role of Speaker” and that as a result the Reform Party delegation had “full support” for the veteran left-wing politician in the politically neutral role. But these qualities were not possessed by Hoyle’s predecessor, John Bercow, Farage said, drawing jeers and boos from other MPs.
Speaking of Hoyle’s qualities, Mr Farage said: “I have to say they stand in stark contrast to the little man who preceded you and did everything in his power to overturn the greatest democratic result in the history of this country, and who terribly disgraced his job. We have your full support.”
John Bercow became a source of great controversy, much to the frustration of Brexiteers, in the final years of his term as Speaker, when he repeatedly used his powers to sabotage the Brexit process in Parliament, contributing to the chaos that was the outcome for Theresa May’s government. After leaving office, Bercow acknowledged using his powers in this way, even going so far as to boast that he had “helped” to block a full Brexit.
Confirmed: Bercow faces vote of no confidence over Trump ban https://t.co/h5posuKilr pic.twitter.com/vCuWbbh5ps
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) February 9, 2017
