John Bercow has said he feels “embarrassed for Kemi Badenoch” as the Tory leader is “completely out of her depth”.
The former Commons speaker and Tory MP told Badenoch in an interview with Saudi Arabia’s state-owned broadcaster Al Arabiya English that it “would be better if she didn’t speak at all,” sometimes calling her party a “bunch of jokers”.
He also ruled out a pact with Reform UK at the next general election, arguing that Nigel Farage hopes to “destroy” the Conservatives.
His intervention comes as a new YouGov poll has set the Tories back to fourth place at 16 per cent compared to Reform at 29 per cent.
Many Tory MPs have been disappointed in Kemi Badenoch’s attempts to rebuild the Conservative brand since she came to office, with some reports suggesting figures are looking at replacing her with either Robert Jenrick or James Cleverly.
When asked about Badenoch, John Bercow said: “I don’t wish to be unkind to someone who is already in deep trouble, but Kemi Badenoch I am afraid is completely out of her depth. I feel embarrassed for Kemi when I hear her perform.
“She speaks so badly. One often concludes it would be better if she didn’t speak at all. She is not in any serious sense a threat to the government.”
Asked about a potential Tory-Reform pact, he added: “I don’t think there will be a coalition between the Conservative Party and Reform. Nigel Farage doesn’t want a deal. He wants to destroy the Conservative Party.”
“[Nigel] could be [the next Prime Minister] but I don’t think he will be. The electoral system is against him. He has got to have a much wider policy pitch than banging on about Brexit.”
Bercow – who is now a Labour Party member – also praised Keir Starmer for making “real progress” in signing the new EU trade deal.
“Starmer has only been in power for less than 11 months and he has achieved a great deal more in that time than Badenoch and her colleagues were ever able to achieve. I think frankly, a period of silence from the Conservatives would be suitable and widely welcomed.”
Related: Victoria Derbyshire humiliates Tory MP over Brexit reset deal