UK Speaker to quit if lawmakers reject poll call

LONDON, September 9 

Britain's House of Commons Speaker John Bercow, who played a key role in the three-year Brexit crisis, said on Monday he would  stand down from the role, issuing a warning to the government not to "degrade" Parliament.

Bercow bent Parliamentary rules to give lawmakers the chance to challenge government policy, most recently to pass a law seeking to block a no-deal exit from the European Union.

He was given a standing ovation from many members of the lower house as he announced his plan to stand down in the coming weeks.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been heavily criticised for suspending parliament for just over a month, only weeks before the country's most important political decision in decades.

Bercow said he would not contest the next election if parliament voted in favour of calling one. If, as expected, lawmakers reject the government's attempt to call an election, he said he would quit on October 31 the day Britain is currently due to leave the EU. Meanwhile, Irish PM Leo Varadkar said that the EU had not received UK alternatives to the backstop provision. — Reuters/AFP