John Bercow picks on the Hon Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip

In the excitement of the Prime Minister’s Article 50 statement — and the subsequent SNP row over heckling — yesterday, much of the drama of PMQs was forgotten. While Jeremy Corbyn once again failed to land any serious blows against Theresa May, it’s John Bercow’s conduct that disappointed Mr S.

The Speaker of the House of Commons broke with parliamentary convention following a question from Tulip Siddiq. After the Labour MP asked when Vote Leave’s promise of £350m a week for the NHS would come to fruition, she accused the Foreign Secretary of ‘smirking’ on the front-bench. After some heckling, Bercow intervened and announced that: ‘Boris is sitting perfectly comfortably’.

Referring to a member of Parliament by their first name is frowned upon. In fact, MPs are not allowed to do any such thing — instead they must address colleagues as the ‘honourable gentleman’ or ‘the honourable member for’. According to Parliamentary customs, the only time names are used is the disciplining (or ‘naming’) of a Member by the Speaker.