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Politics

12th Mar 2019

John Bercow explains his use of ‘order’ and shouts it into a camera in the process

If a Speaker shouts in a forest and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound?

Oli Dugmore

If a Speaker shouts in a forest and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound?

John Bercow is somewhat a national treasure. And that’s saying something when you consider the weight of allegations of historical bullying levelled at him.

Brits love a shouty man, I guess. Or, to be more specific, a posh man bellowing at other posh people, see Geoffrey Cox.

So, little surprise that when the House of Commons posted a video to Reddit of the Speaker explaining his use of ‘order’ and the parliamentary procedure around it, it absolutely banged.

“I keep order in the chamber, really, by saying ‘order'” Bercow says in the video. “I mean literally the use of that word is a signal to a Member, or to a group of Members, that the noise should subside.”

He then shouts ‘order’ into a camera from what would appear to be his office, presumably startling some poor digital underling in the Comms team half to death.

“Ordeeeeer! The House must calm itself, there’s a long time to go.”

How does the Speaker of the House of Commons keep order? We asked him… from r/ukpolitics

And yes, it turns out the House of Commons has a verified Reddit account. The times they are a changing.