Thursday 25 June 2009

Smaller chair required


There is a good piece over at Coffee House on our new speaker.

Lloyd Evans writes that

Make the chair smaller. Or sit on a box. John Bercow’s first overhaul of parliamentary structures should involve re-fitting the seat to accommodate his pint-sized proportions. He looked a little stranded up on his perch at PMQs today and at the end he had to be helped back down to the ground.
This was a decent enough start. His touch might be lighter but he has bundles of confidence in the house. A welcome change. The last chap, already I can barely remember his name, was the Speaker who couldn’t speak. Bercow can’t stop speaking. His justly praised oratorical skills would be perfect if he weren’t such an Orator when displaying them. At times he seemed to want to play the game rather than refereeing it. In a break with tradition he wore a plain academic gown. No gold or frills. Austere dignity was the signal. He looked a bit like Kevin Keegan’s younger brother receiving an honorary degree.

No comments: