Vaz and Hewitt play role in Bercow campaign

Pat Hewitt has informed Lobbydog that she was one of the MPs who sponsored John Bercow in his campaign to win the Speaker's chair.

Every candidate needed 12 to 15 sponsors, at least three of which must be from a different party.

Tory MP Edward Garnier reckoned there was only one Conservative member on Bercow's sponsor list.

I guess it was Julian Lewis MP as he was dutifully holding up little prompt notes for Bercow while he tried to do the "speaking without notes" trick at the election debate on Monday night.

Meanwhile, I've learnt that the notorious Keith Vaz – who pops up in all sorts of newspaper stories – also played a role in Bercow's campaign, though I’m not sure what yet.