When first elected in 2009, Commons Speaker John Bercow pledged to give backbenchers more opportunity to hold the Government to account. Philip Cowley, Professor of Politics at Queen Mary, comments on Bercow’s influence, arguing that it “has been significant, and he goes out of his way to rebalance power." But Professor Cowley believes the shift in parliamentary power had in fact been going on for decades before Bercow's arrival. "It's definitely true that recent changes have enhanced the power of the back benches, but in reality this has been going for a long time," he says.
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