Will UKIP put up a candidate against Bercow? ....

Will UKIP put up a candidate against Bercow? ....
.... And if they do, will they win? That would be interesting.

It would be bad form to do so. If they did I don't see them having much chance of winning.

Not sure why it would be bad form. It is, after all, an election, and Bercow will only be defeated if the people decide not to support him. If there is no contest, then the people will be denied their say. Even the Speaker should be answerable at the ballot box. As things stand, I'm not sure who would win that seat. He was, after all, found to have fiddled his expenses like many others. Much depends on how his constituents feel about that.

Not sure why it would be bad form. By convention parties do not run candidates against the speaker. Although I believe some of the smaller parties have done. I'm sure TJ knows better than I.

If by " smaller parties" you mean Labour, Lib-Dem and SNP, then yes. They have done so in the past, and would do so again at the drop of a hat,if it suited them, Dog. Only the Conservatives can be relied upon to behave like gentlemen - and even then, not always .....

If by " smaller parties" you mean Labour, Lib-Dem and SNP, then yes. They have done so in the past, and would do so again at the drop of a hat,if it suited them, Dog. Only the Conservatives can be relied upon to behave like gentlemen - and even then, not always ..... So are a "convention" and a "gentleman's agreement" the same thing? Spartacus

If by " smaller parties" you mean Labour, Lib-Dem and SNP, then yes. They have done so in the past, and would do so again at the drop of a hat,if it suited them, Dog. Only the Conservatives can be relied upon to behave like gentlemen - and even then, not always ..... So are a "convention" and a "gentleman's agreement" the same thing? Spartacus Pretty much, I would say .... Yes.

And would you say that the honouring of the convention/gentleman's agreement by the Conservatives might just have had something to do with the fact that for the vast majority of the twentieth century, the Speaker was a Conservative? Spartacus

The last three speakers have all come from the Labour Party, and Bercow might just as well be. He even speaks with a new Labour accent! As you know, the convention is that the Speaker abandons his former political allegiances and acts impartially. Lord Tonypandy was entirely even-handed, and so was Betty Boothroyd - both exemplars of impartiality. Speaker Martin, on the other hand, was a Labour man to his fingertips in Speaker's robes, and anything but impartial. He often appeared to be the government's stooge, to the annoyance of the other parties. And forget the Socratic dialogue, Sparty. You're no Socrates. No takers here!

And forget the Socratic dialogue, Sparty. You're no Socrates. No takers here! Well, that's ME told, Aerost .... sorry, Bestbear! :wink: So are you adding "No Socratic Dialogue" to the list of your rules on your ... sorry, Bulldog's site? Of course that would have to be "No Socratic Dialogue except that initiated by Bestbear". And If you really knew your classics, you'd realise that I'd actually asked two separate questions. Not Socratic at all. As my American friends would say, you show, as ever, that you're "Part Smart". The simple point I was making was that the Conservatives had a monopoly of the Speaker's Chair for most of the twentieth century - hence it was easier for them to adhere to the "gentleman's agreement". QED. As to your snobby point about Bercow's accent, Speaker Thomas, of course (who I once had the privelege of hearing) had a very pronounced Welsh accent. But you find that one "acceptable," I presume ... Spartacus

I find the new labour accent perfectly acceptable, Sparty. I merely noted that there is one, and that Bercow shares it. Nothing snobbish about the observation! The Millibands have it, and so does Mr Balls. And so does Mr Squeaker, which is interesting to those of us who observe such things - not to you, of course. Mandelson, however, does not speak New Labour, and never falls into the mockney favoured by NewLabSpeak. He is a Krispy-Kleen RP speaker. You will hear all kinds of accents in the mess these days, I am told. There was once only one "non-received" accent considered fully acceptable: that of the Scottish gentlemen. Now, though, anything goes. Is that an improvement, do you think?

And so does Mr Squeaker Surely that should be "Speaker"? Oh sorry, Bestbear, I'd forgotten that the requirement to be "courteous" without making "personal attacks" only applied to us lesser mortals, not to you ... :wink: Spartacus

Mr Squeaker is not a member of this forum, as far as I know? Gator, on the other hand, is .....

Mr Squeaker is not a member of this forum, as far as I know? Gator, on the other hand, is ..... And, of course, the late Mr. Jackson wasn't a member either. So Soldier Boy can say what he likes with your blessing. Now I'm understanding how you run your board, Bestbear ... Have a word with Steph ... sorry, Bulldog ... and let him know what what you've decided, won't you? :wink: Spartacus

Now I'm understanding how you run your board, Bestbear ... Have a word with Steph ... sorry, Bulldog ... and let him know what what you've decided, won't you? :wink: Spartacus Your continued presence refutes that Sparty.

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