John Bercow made his debut at Labour Conference last night, and while the talk itself was the usual nauseating routine (at one point an exasperated Chopper slumped against the chair in front of him), there was one moment of candour between Bercow and a small group of fans after the event finished: he’s actually still unpersuaded by Starmer’s charms. An impressive volte-face, given just minutes earlier he’d defended Starmer to the full crowd by insisting he’s “a good guy” and “has got a great brain”…

Speaking after the cameras were switched off, Bercow was more frank:

“To be honest, if I’m really honest about it, the jury’s out […] If you’re saying to me ‘did I join the Labour Party because of Keir Starmer’, no I didn’t, I’ll be honest with you. I didn’t join because of Keir […] it’s the party you’re voting for…whether Keir can do it, I don’t know.”

Infighting over membership rules and cervixes isn’t doing it for John either, then. Although perhaps he’d think differently if he had time to reflect from a sedentary position on the Lords’ benches…