Commons leader says No 10 will abide by convention of leaving question of who is Speaker to parliament

The government has insisted it will not interfere in an attempt by backbench MPs to remove the Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow, who came under fresh attack this weekend after a video emerged in which he admitted voting to remain in last year’s referendum.

Bercow irritated some backbenchers last week when he publicly vetoed the idea of Donald Trump addressing both houses of parliament in Westminster Hall, with an outspoken statement saying that the Commons must oppose “racism and sexism”.

His intervention was regarded as grandstanding by Downing Street, which insists there was never any plan to invite Trump to address MPs.

This weekend the Sunday Telegraph obtained a copy of a video in which he told students at Reading University, “Personally I voted to remain. I thought it was better to stay in the European Union than not.” He went on to say that the “untruths” spoken during the referendum and the “racist sentiment” whipped up by some parts of the Brexit campaign did not invalidate the result.

The website of the House of Commons states “the Speaker is the chief officer and highest authority of the House of Commons and must remain politically impartial at all times … therefore, on election the new Speaker must resign from their political party and remain separate from political issues even in retirement”.

David Lidington, the leader of the House of Commons, admitted there would be strong reaction to Bercow’s remarks and said the government would abide by the convention of leaving the question of who should be the Speaker to the House of Commons.

Speaking to the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show, he said: “There will be strong reaction among some MPs to what he said at Reading, particularly after what he said about the state visit earlier in the week. Ultimately, the Speaker has to command the confidence of the House of Commons as a whole.”

He added: “John has his very strong supporters as well as his strong critics in the House of Commons; we shall have to see how members as a whole respond. The government is very determined this is a matter for the House as a whole.”

MPs interpreted that as a suggestion that ministers would not be whipped if a no confidence motion ever came to a vote. Most believe there would be little chance of such a motion succeeding; but Bercow’s opponents hope to demonstrate enough opposition to pressure him into stepping down before 2020.

Reformist Speaker John Bercow places himself in eye of another storm Read more

Conservative MP James Duddridge has tabled an early day motion – a way of making the government aware of the strength of feeling among MPs – calling for a vote of no confidence in Bercow. He is so far the only signatory, although others, including another Conservative, Alec Shelbrooke, have expressed their support.

One Labour backbencher supportive of Bercow said: “They’re just going to dig up everything they can, and hope that some of the mud sticks. It’s just really nasty personal stuff – but that doesn’t change the maths of it.”

A spokeswoman for the Speaker said: “Mr Bercow voted in the EU referendum, along with millions of others. The record shows that he has rigorously facilitated the raising of concerns of those on both sides of this argument, as he does on every other issue.”

Key pro-Brexit MPs including Steve Baker, chair of the European Research Group of backbenchers, have told the Guardian they are not interested in joining the effort to remove Bercow, suggesting Duddridge’s campaign may not gather pace.

Instead, Brexiters are training their fire on the House of Lords, which will debate the article 50 bill when parliament returns after the half-term break. Both Labour and Lib Dem peers have tabled amendments and hope to pressure the government into making fresh assurances about consulting parliament and the public, and protecting the rights of EU citizens living in the UK.