Boris Johnson has adopted the ‘toolkit of Trumpianism’, John Bercow says

John Bercow has accused Boris Johnson’s government of adopting the ‘toolkit of Trumpianism’ by pushing through coronavirus laws without a vote or debate in Parliament.

In an interview with BBC Radio 4’s World This Weekend the former Commons Speaker said Parliament “has been unavoidably constrained but it should not now avoidably constrain itself”, adding that debate, and votes are ”the lifeblood of a pluralist system”.

‘Important safeguards’

Mr Bercow went on: “Without them – and they are tremendously important safeguards – what you have is Government by executive fiat and it seems to me that there is a world of difference between the situation six months ago and that which pertains today.”

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“If governments feel that they can bypass or circumvent or stymie the voice of parliament, if they don’t really feel the need to consult the legislature any more, well then they will just do things their own.

“What I say is that the toolkit of Trumpianism – if you will, press conferences, sub-Churchillian scripted soundbites in television addresses to the nation or simply taking to Twitter – is not good enough.

“It is no substitute for that age-old, tried and tested, invaluable mechanism called accountability to Parliament. So ducking, diving, dodging scrutiny, of which there has been some evidence in recent times, cannot continue.”

The former Common Speaker said the Government could not continue ‘dodging scrutiny’ (Photo: Eamonn M. McCormack/Getty) Growing unrest

His remarks came after influential Conservative backbencher Sir Graham Brady tabled an amendment to the Coronavirus Act trying to force greater parliamentary scrutiny of the regulations.

The Coronavirus Act was initially passed in the early days of the Government’s response to the pandemic. It gave ministers special, emergency powers to be able to respond to the crisis quickly – without each new law or rule being debated and voted.

But the nature of the Act meant that they were time-limited powers which would need to be renewed by the Commons after six months

More than 40 Tory MPs have now already thrown their weight behind the amendment, and with Labour likely to support, it is likely Mr Johnson could be defeated in the Commons on Wednesday despite his 80-seat majority.

The Government says it wants engage with Parliament while ensuring it can react quickly to suppress the virus. Over the weekend it confirmed Parliament will be given a vote on the Prime Minister’s “Rule of Six” next month.

But despite Downing Street’s apparent bid to to alleviate the concerns of MPs before the vote, Sir Graham said the Government’s olive branch was “not relevant”.

He said: “There would always have been a retrospective opportunity for a vote on the Rule of Six.

”What I am pressing for is debates and votes before measures come into force.“

Additional reporting by Press Association