John Simon Bercow (born January 19, 1963) is a politician and Conservative Party Member of Parliament for Buckingham in the United Kingdom. He has a majority of 18,129 votes. He has a long-standing interest in Burma and has frequently raised issues of democracy and genocide in the country. In 2006 he was made a Patron of the Tory Reform Group.^[1] Before you can upload images you will need to register an account Only use this if you hold the copyright on the image. ... Before you can upload images you will need to register an account Only use this if you hold the copyright on the image. ... January 19 is the 19th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1963 (MCMLXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Conservative Party (officially the Conservative and Unionist Party) is the second largest political party in the United Kingdom in terms of sitting Members of Parliament (MPs), the largest in terms of public membership, and is the second oldest extant political party in the world. ... A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters to a parliament. ... Buckingham is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ... The Tory Reform Group (TRG) is a group within the United Kingdoms Conservative Party, that uphold the One Nation Tory vision, which they describe[citation needed] as being the promotion of: Social justice Political progress Prosperity for all // Europe The TRG is commonly seen as being pro-European. ...

Early life

The son of a Jewish taxi driver, Bercow attended the University of Essex during the 1980s. He graduated with First Class Honours in Government. During this period, he was a member of the Monday Club, becoming the secretary of its immigration and repatriation section. At the age of twenty he left the organisation, citing the extremism of many of the Monday Club's members as his reason. The University of Essex rules is a British plate glass university. ... The Conservative Monday Club (widely known as the Monday Club) is a British right-wing [1] pressure-group with its origins in the Conservative Party. ...

After his graduation, he was appointed the National Chairman of the Federation of Conservative Students. He attracted the attention of the Conservative leadership and in 1987 was appointed by Norman Tebbit as Vice-Chairman of the Conservative Collegiate Forum, the successor of the FCS, to head the campaign for student support in the run-up to the 1987 General Election. In 1988 he joined Rowland Sallingbury Casey after a spell in merchant banking. Within five years he had become a board director. Norman Beresford Tebbit, Baron Tebbit, CH, PC (born 29 March 1931) is a British Conservative politician and former Member of Parliament (MP) for Chingford, who was born in Southgate in Enfield. ... Margaret Thatcher David Steel Election 1987 Titles The United Kingdom general election of 1987 was held on 11 June 1987 and was the third consecutive victory for the Conservative Party under the leadership of Margaret Thatcher. ...

Early political career

In 1986 he stood as a Conservative candidate and was elected in the London Borough of Lambeth for four years. In 1987 he was appointed the youngest Deputy Group Leader in the United Kingdom. He first attempted to enter parliament in 1987 when he stood as a Conservative candidate in the general election for Motherwell. He was not elected. He stood again in the 1992 General Election in the constituency of Bristol South. Again he failed to be elected. This however did not hold back his political career; in 1995 he was appointed as Special Adviser to the Chief Secretary to the Treasury Jonathan Aitken, and after Aitken's resignation to fight his ill-judged libel action, Bercow served as a Special Adviser to the Secretary of State for National Heritage, Virginia Bottomley. In the 1997 General Election, he became the Member of Parliament for Buckingham with a majority of 12,386. The London Borough of Lambeth is a London borough in South London, England and forms part of Inner London. ... Motherwell was a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1918 to 1974. ... Jonathan William Patrick Aitken (born August 30, 1942) is a former Conservative Member of Parliament, British government minister and convicted perjurer. ... The Right Honourable Virginia Hilda Brunette Maxwell Bottomley, Baroness Bottomley of Nettlestone, PC (born March 12, 1948), née Virginia Garnett, is a British Conservative Party politician. ... The UK general election, 1997 was one of the largest election victories in the history of the twentieth century. ...

Parliamentary career

Bercow shifted his politics, embracing social liberalism, at about the same time as his then colleague, Michael Portillo. In 2000 supported the successful attempt to reduce the gay age of consent to 16. He also supported the bar the following year on MPs becoming members of the Monday Club, an organisation of which he is a former member.[1] Michael Denzil Xavier Portillo PC (born 26 May 1953) is an English journalist, broadcaster, and former Conservative politician. ... In the early 1950s the police were actively enforcing the laws affecting homosexual men (some say this was a result of CIA pressure following the Burgess–Maclean spy scandal). ...

Bercow rose quickly through the opposition's junior ranks before joining the Shadow Cabinet in 2001 under the then party leader Iain Duncan Smith. During his first spell on the front bench Bercow publicly confessed that his lack of ruthlessness would prevent him from rising any further through the ranks. Rt. ...

This proved to be the case when the Government unveiled a Bill to allow unmarried gay and heterosexual couples to adopt children. Despite the bill being a matter of conscience, Duncan Smith imposed a three-line whip rather than allowing a free vote. In protest, Bercow defied the whips and voted with the government. He then resigned from the front bench.[2] As a backbencher he was openly critical of the leadership declaring that IDS was about as likely to "meet an Eskimo in the desert" as he was to win the 2005 General Election.[3] The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005. ...

Return to the Front Bench

In 2003 the new Conservative Leader Michael Howard appointed Bercow the Shadow International Development Secretary. In 2005, he won the Channel Four/Hansard Society Political Award for Opposition MP of the Year. With a colleague, he runs the Advanced Speaking and Campaigning course, which has trained over 600 Conservatives, including several current MPs. He has also lectured in the United States to students of the Leadership Institute. The Rt Hon. ...

Opposition MP of the year

On 8 February 2006, Bercow won the Channel Four/Hansard Society Political Award for Opposition MP of the Year for 2005. He said, February 8 is the 39th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ...

I shall treasure this award and I am extremely grateful to my colleagues for it. Winning it has raised the question of what is good opposition. I think that the public is fed up with one politician simply ranting at another politician for the sake of it. The public deserves to see a more measured and constructive approach to politics. In addition to pursuing a wide variety of local issues, I have attempted to question, probe and scrutinise the Government in the House of Commons on important national and international topics which concern people. Over the last 12 months, I have constantly pressed the case for reform of world trade rules to give the poorest people on the planet a chance to sell their products and improve their quality of life. The plight of the people of Darfur, Western Sudan, has also been a regular theme. They have suffered too much for too long with too little done about the situation. I shall go on arguing for Britain to take the lead in the international community in seeking decisive action for peace and justice.[4]

Personal life

Bercow married his wife Sally Illman in December 2002. They have two sons, Oliver born in December 2003 and Freddie born in November 2005. It is well known that Sally Bercow is a member of the Labour Party. His constituency website states: "Outside of politics, John enjoys tennis, squash, swimming, reading and music. He is a qualified lawn tennis coach."

Rumours of defection

Following the defection of Quentin Davies to the Labour Party on 26 June 2007, persistent Westminster rumours placed him as the next most likely candidate for defection to the Labour Party. These rumours were reported by the bloggers Iain Dale and Guido Fawkes. (John) Quentin Davies (born 29 May 1944) is a British Labour Party politician, and Member of Parliament for Grantham and Stamford. ... The Labour Party has been, since its founding in the early 20th century, the principal political party of the left in England, Scotland and Wales. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Iain Dale is a British Conservative politician and pundit, broadcaster and owner of Politicos Bookstore and Publishing. ... Guy Fawkes Guido Fawkes (April 13, 1570—January 31, 1606; most commonly called Guy Fawkes and sometimes rendered as Faukes), who also used the pseudonym John Johnson, was a member of a group of Catholic conspirators who attempted to assassinate King James I and all the members of both...

Trivia

• Supports Arsenal F.C.

Arsenal Football Club (also known as Arsenal, The Arsenal or The Gunners) are an English professional football club based in Holloway, north London. ...

References

External links

• Conservatives.com - John Bercow MP official biography on the site of the Conservative Party
• They Work For You - John Bercow MP
• The Public Whip - John Bercow MP voting record