JOHN BERCOW admits his father would not have favored the huge revenue he made on his second dwelling

The Rt Hon John Bercow, 62, was the Conservative MP for Buckingham from 1997 to 2019 and served as Speaker of the House of Commons, writes Dan Moore. 

Born in Edgware, in Middlesex, he mixed politics with a career in merchant banking before putting his oratory skills to good use as a lecturer in communication and campaigning. He trained more than 600 Conservative supporters, including several MPs.

After leaving Parliament, he wrote Unspeakable: The Autobiography. He also appeared in the US version of TV series The Traitors, making it to the final eight before getting ‘murdered’. 

John now lives in Battersea, south London, with his wife Sally, a public relations specialist, and their three children, Oliver, Freddie and Jemima.

What did your parents teach you about money?

Don’t gamble. I was influenced by my dad, who took the view that bookies invariably win. I should say I have absolutely no moral aversion to gambling. I have only ever bet when it’s not really a bet. 

I remember having a good-natured disagreement with a parliamentary colleague about who won the third set of the men’s Wimbledon final in 1974. He was adamant it was Ken Rosewall and challenged me to a £10 bet. I knew it was Jimmy Connors and, despite feeling bad about it, I took his money.

Was money tight when you were growing up?

For a period in the 1960s, my parents, Brenda and Charles, and my sister Alison and I were just about what you could call the middle class. My father ran his own business and bought our house in Woodside Park, north London, with either a tiny mortgage or none at all. He had an almost fanatical aversion to debt. 

By 1972 he was in financial trouble. He had to sell his second-hand car business, which had suffered massively due to a hike in oil prices and unfortunately my parents got divorced soon afterwards.

Have you ever struggled to make ends meet?

No

What was the best year of your financial life?

The year after I left the House of Commons in 2019. I published my autobiography and did a lot of public speaking to business audiences, which brought in more than I’d earned through my salary as an MP [£79,468 in April 2019] and a second salary, which was around the same amount again as Speaker [£77,000]. For 35 years, I wasn’t paid to speak in public, I had to represent my party or, as Speaker, remain impartial.

What was your best financial decision?

Buying a second home in London in 2003. It was a three-bedroom flat. People often advise against selling, but we did in 2011 because we couldn’t afford to own two properties and needed something larger as we had three kids. It was a decision my father would not have approved of, but we made £500,000 on it.

What has been your biggest money mistake?

I wanted to be a barrister and started a post-graduate law course. At the time, I held an elected position as national chairman, Federation of Conservative Students, and the party wanted me to take on the position full-time with immediate effect. I explained I was in the middle of this course, but they were insistent, so I gave it up. I probably made a mistake, as it would have been a politically useful and lucrative career.

What is the most expensive thing you bought for fun?

Aa a young man, in 1988, I splashed out on a Caribbean cruise, but looking back, it was a tad extravagant. I paid for it with money left after buying my first flat, in Streatham, after my dad died.

What is the one little luxury you treat yourself to?

I treated myself to a nice whisky bottle in the past, but I don’t drink now. I do love smoked salmon, but I wouldn’t feast on it as it’s quite indulgent. I suppose this stems from my parental background.

Do you save into a pension or invest in the stock market?

I have a pension, but I don’t invest in stocks. I don’t have that personal finance appetite.

If you were Chancellor, what’s the first thing you would do?

There is a huge amount of talk in the media about benefit fraud. However, there is also enormous amounts of tax evasion. I feel in times of austerity, when there is pressure to repair public finances, we are beholden to take more from those who have and less from those who have not.

What is your number one financial priority?

My priority is to try to earn at a reasonable level for as long as I am healthy. I won’t take on another job as stimulating as those I had as an MP, but I enjoy communicating. It is often said people fear three things. Death, which I don’t. Taxes, which is the price you pay society to live, and public speaking, which I relish.

• The Rt Hon John Bercow is available for speaking engagements via nmplive.co.uk.