John Bercow says he will resign as House of Commons speaker before the general election
The House of Commons Speaker John Bercow has announced his decision to stand down before the next general election.
Bercow told members of Parliament he would resign immediately if they voted for an early general election on Monday evening, or on the date of Britain's planned exit from the EU, if they did not.
"At the 2017 election, I promised my wife and children that it would be my last," he said.
"This is a pledge that I intend to keep. If the House votes tonight for an early general election, my tenure as Speaker and MP will end when this parliament ends. If the House does not so vote, I have concluded that the least disruptive and most democratic course of action would be for me to stand down at the close of business on Thursday October 31."
Bercow announced his plans to stand down after the Conservatives confirmed they would stand against him at the general election.
By convention the Speaker is normally not challenged in elections.
However, Bercow has become a target for Boris Johnson's government after he repeatedly intervened in favour of moves by opposition members of parliament who wish to prevent a no-deal Brexit.
He told MPs he would continue to act as "the backbenchers' backstop," in the meantime.
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