The appointment of a new Speaker of Britain’s House of Commons is usually an arcane parliamentary ritual of limited interest outside Westminster. But John Bercow’s resignation as the chamber’s presiding officer on Monday has started a race to replace him that will be closely watched beyond the confines of parliament. Mr Bercow has been an unusually interventionist Speaker over the past decade, and in recent months has helped backbench MPs to shape the course of Brexit. “He’s definitely been a very important Speaker and has changed the way the Commons works,” said Daniel Gover, Lecturer in UK Politics at Queen Mary University of London. “The next Speaker won’t need to push things so far because Bercow has established a lot of precedents and they will be cited by his successors.” Find out more