Effigy of speaker John Bercow to go up in flames to celebrate bonfire night
An 11-metre effigy of outgoing Commons speaker John Bercow holding the heads of Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn will go up in flames on Saturday to celebrate bonfire night.
Bercow – alongside the prime minister and Labour leader – was today unveiled as this year’s Guy for the Edenbridge Bonfire Society, which has poked fun at celebrities and politicians for over 20 years.
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Organisers said Bercow had been chosen as this year’s Guy because of his “controversial behaviour” and his “‘explosive’ anger”.
During the unveiling of the effigy, Bercow’s head fell apart and had to be fixed by members of the society.
“This year we have chosen the infuriating Commons Speaker John Bercow as our celebrity guy and I am sure you will agree that our artist, Andrea Deans, has captured his likeness very well,” said chairman Bill Cummings.
Members of the society repaired the effigy after it fell apart during the unveiling. Images: Getty
“Our message to Mr Bercow is that you cannot keep disrupting Parliament and this is one situation you cannot argue yourself out of,” he added.
“We hope Mr Bercow will appreciate the humour contained in our caricature and take it in the good spirit with which it is intended.”
Bercow has been speaker of the Commons since 2009, and is due to stand down tomorrow.
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Previous Edenbridge Guys have included Donald Trump, Katie Hopkins, and Wayne Rooney. This is not Johnson’s first appearance at the event – he was also last year’s Guy.
Deans, who painted the effigy, said the group and received many suggestions from the public about who should be this year’s Guy, adding: “this year it was a close vote between John Bercow and Piers Morgan”.
Main image credit: Getty