The Speaker’s wife has announced she is planning to stand as a Labour candidate in next year’s local elections, to the amazement of MPs.
Sally Bercow, who married John Bercow in 2002, has been selected to fight the Conservative held St James’s ward in next May’s local election.
The Speaker renounces any political affiliation on taking the office but his spokesman said yesterday that this requirement does apply to his wife or other members of his family — even though she lives in grace and favour apartment inside Parliament.
“It is very well-known that Sally is a Labour Party member and activist. It was known at the Speaker’s election,” the spokesman said.
“There is nothing wildly novel in this. It is just unusual that families have people who have been activists in two different political parties.
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“None of the rules that demand the Speaker must be impartial apply to the Speaker’s wife or wider family.”
Mrs Bercow, nee Illman, is a former Labour Party activist who campaigned for Tony Blair in 1997.
At the time of their engagement, she said: “I was thrilled that both [Tony Blair and John Bercow] won, but now I am lapsed from New Labour and I naturally support John on the important issues.”
Once seen to be on the right of the Conservative Party, Mr Bercow moved to the centre after meeting his wife, an advertising executive. In 2002 he resigned from the Tory front bench in protest at Iain Duncan Smith’s decision to impose a three-line whip on MPs in the debate on gay adoption.
Mr Bercow was chosen to replace Michael Martin in June with the overwhelming support of Labour MPs and to the dismay of those around David Cameron, who would have preferred Sir George Young.