House of Commons
Parliament

Conservative backbencher Peter Bone says he has recently "very much disagreed" with some of John Bercow's rulings relating to Brexit debates.

However, he says he believes Mr Bercow has nevertheless been an "outstanding" Speaker, who has "transformed" the Commons during his time in the chair.

Steve Baker, who chairs the Eurosceptic ERG group of Tory backbenchers, says it would perhaps be “gracious” to not mention when he “might possibly have disagreed” with the Speaker.

But he adds: “It is perfectly plain to me you love this place and this Parliament and I am grateful for all of your service.”

A number of candidates have already put their names forward to run to be Speaker after John Bercow steps down.

Those who have announced so far are:

• Sir Edward Leigh - Conservative
• Chris Bryant - Labour
• Eleanor Laing - Conservative and deputy Speaker
• Peter Wishart - SNP

House of Commons
Parliament

Tory MP Dame Cheryl Gillan rises to her feet to thank the Speaker, John Bercow.

She says he "annoys members on all front benches from time to time", which makes him evenhanded.

Dame Cheryl also thanked him for his work as a constiuency MP - they are both based in Buckinghamshire - and praised the thousands of events he has held for charities.

"You have been absolutely superb," she adds.

House of Lords
Parliament

Meanwhile in the House of Lords, it has been announced that the law designed to prevent a no-deal Brexit at the end of October has received royal assent.

The legislation went through all its parliamentary stages last week, backed by opposition parties and a number of rebel Tories who have since been kicked out of the parliamentary Conservative Party.

It forces the prime minister to request a Brexit delay to 31 January 2020 unless a deal - or a no-deal exit - is approved by MPs by 19 October.

House of Commons
Parliament

Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove also pays tribute to Mr Bercow, praising his "unwavering" commitment to his principles and his constituents.

He adds he has "personally appreciated" his efforts to empower backbench MPs.

House of Commons
Parliament

Jeremy Corbyn wants to put on record his praise for the Speaker.

The Labout leader says: "In your role as Speaker, you have totally changed the way in which the job has been done, reached out to people across the country... [and] talked to people about the role of Parliament and democracy.

"This Parliament is the stronger for your being Speaker, our democracy is the stronger for your being Speaker."

House of Commons
Parliament

John Bercow says being Commons Speaker has been the "greatest privilege and honour of my professional life" - at the end of his speech, he receives a round of applause.

Opposition MPs give him a standing ovation - something not replicated on the government front bench.

House of Commons
Parliament

Continuing, John Bercow says he has sought during his tenure to increase the relative authority of Parliament, for which he says he offers "absolutely no apology".

He has sought to be, he says, the "backbenchers' backstop".

House of Commons
Parliament

John Bercow says the solution - of standing down on 31 October if MPs do not vote for an early election tonight - would be the "least disruptive and most democratic course of action".

He says the week after the Queen's Speech - the latest Brexit deadline - is set to be "quite lively" and it would be good to have an experienced Speaker in the chair.

The Speaker of the Commons, John Bercow, says he will stand down either at the next election or at the close of business on Thursday 31 October - whichever comes first.

BBC News Channel

Meanwhile, Labour's Leader in the House of Lords Baroness Smith has said the party's peers will not take part in the short ceremony later marking the prorogation - or suspension - of Parliament.

You can find out more about the ceremony here - it involves some doffing of caps, an official called Black Rod and some Norman French.

"We really can't be part of what is a very political shutdown of Parliament, to avoid Parliament disucssing the most crucial issue of the day, which is Brexit," she tells the BBC.

She also says Liberal Democrat peers will observe the boycott.

Image source, AFP

It's now been confirmed, external that Dominic Grieve will ask for an urgent debate later on the legal advice ministers received about the Parliament suspension, plus the Operation Yellowhammer no-deal planning documents.

Yellowhammer documents, which were leaked to the press over the summer, warned of food and medicine shortages if the UK leaves the EU without a deal.

Mr Grieve wants to use a parliamentary device known as a "humble address" to the Queen to force the publication of letters, emails, and text messages between ministers and advisers.

Opposition parties have previously used this device to try to force the publication of Brexit-related economic forecasts and documents relating to the universal credit welfare changes.