In a rather staid session of PMQs this week, it was Speaker Bercow that caught my attention. While Brown, Cameron and Clegg all made valid points about Kelly and the latest atrocities in Afghanistan, Bercow was noticeably more vocal than in previous debates. Maybe his new special adviser and spokesman Tim Hames has something to do with it?

It is the former Times commentator’s first week in his new job and his boss is already catching the media’s eye. On Twitter, the Evening Standard’s Paul Waugh suggests that Bercow’s intervention during a question on the EU referendum annoyed Gordon Brown. The prime minister was reminded to focus his response on the government’s approach, denying Gordon the opportunity to crack out a few Tory-bashing one-liners on the Lisbon Treaty.

And before Gordon could land a blow about the Conservative approach to the NHS, Bercow interjected: “I don’t think we need to go into that today.”

Whether Bercow was feeling more forceful than usual or this is all part of a new PR campaign, it is worth keeping an eye on. I have a suspicion that the Speaker is beginning to get comfy in his new chair — and that could mean a stronger personality to accompany a more tightly regulated Parliament.