JOHN BERCOW LECTURE CHRIST CHURCH UNIVERSITY

John Bercow, speaker of the House of Commons was fulfilling a promise he made to visit all universities currently teaching the official Parliamentary Studies module in collaboration with the Houses of Parliament. He addressed a private session with final year students, chaired by Dr Mark Bennister who leads the module. Politics staff as well as A-Level students from the Universities partner school, the Canterbury Academy, were also present. Mr Speaker spent over an hour and a half answering questions from students on a wide range of subjects relating to current parliamentary issues. Subjects included minority government, the modern role of the Speaker, Lords reform, current challenges for parliament, and the Speaker’s own political journey.

John Bercow then went on to deliver the first lecture in the Vice Chancellor’s Public Lecture series to a packed audience of 450 members of staff, students and the public. The public lecture ‘The Making of a Modern Parliament’ was also a great success as Mr Speaker gave an entertaining and highly informative talk on the role of Speaker and the reform of Parliament.