Breaking news - Martin to step down

[Napster]

Martin to resign as UK Common Speaker
Michael Martin is to resign as Common Speaker after losing the confidence of many MPs and party leaders over his handling of the Westminster expenses furore.

The Speaker decided to bow to his critics and announce his departure after enduring a battering in the press over his defiant statement on Monday. It is unclear whether Mr Martin will go immediately or stay on until the general election

 

[pickledseal]

Not suprised, 'position untenable' comes to mind....

 

[ldnfatso]

off with his head!

 

[canveyshrimper]

Tradition says the the Speaker goes immediately, however given New Labour's record of ignoring the will & tradition of Parliament they'll want him to stay on. By going immediately it will force a by election which all likelihood they will lose.

 

[ldnfatso]

Why a by election? Is he resigning his seat as an MP also or is he just resigning his position as speaker?

 

[please delete my account]

Politics isn't my strong point, but are the mp's using this guy as a scapegoat to deflect the spotlight away from the fact that they are all a bunch of lying, thieving scumbags?

 

[ldnfatso]

Politics isn't my strong point, but are the mp's using this guy as a scapegoat to deflect to spotlight away from the fact that they are all a bunch of lying, thieving scumbags?

Yes, valid point but this won't be the end of the matter!

 

[Thorpe Groyney]

Politics isn't my strong point, but are the mp's using this guy as a scapegoat to deflect to spotlight away from the fact that they are all a bunch of lying, thieving scumbags?

No, he's being forced out by a few media whore MP's after he defended their right, like a old Union shop steward, to be a bunch of lying, thieving scumbags.

He requested a police investigation into finding out who the MP was that was leaking the expenses claims to the Daily Telegraph. When Kate Hoey asked him if it was a waste of money, and that the money would be better spent on having policemen on the street, he angrily shouted her down.

After that exchange a few opportunist MP's asked for his resignation. Not by private letter to him or via their party leaders, but via BBC or Sky News.

Makes you proud to be British..

 

[canveyshrimper]

Why a by election? Is he resigning his seat as an MP also or is he just resigning his position as speaker?

By tradition if a Speaker resigns during a term of Parliament he or she will also stand down as a MP. The Speaker is of course elected as MP for their constituency for whichever party they stand for. He will then be elected by MP's of all sides as Speaker. However the Speaker must also be strictly neutral on party loyalty, which Martin sadly is not. You can look at recent Speakers Betty Boothroyd & Bernard Weatherill as excellent examples of this.

Politics isn't my strong point, but are the mp's using this guy as a scapegoat to deflect to spotlight away from the fact that they are all a bunch of lying, thieving scumbags?

I don't think they are, while it is undoubtedly true the majority of MP's do have their snouts firmly in the trough one of the roles of the Speaker is to uphold traditions, fair dealing & honesty in Parliament. Something he has signally failed to do, his allowing the police to arrest Damian Green with in the Palace of Westminster is a prime example. He then pushed the blame on this to his Serjeant at Arms, being the coward that he is. He has also done his absolute utmost to resist the publication of MP's expenses under the very Freedom of Information Act that government introduced. I think he was also involved in the removal of Elizabeth Filkin who actually resigned, but was investigating standards of behaviour within public life & the House of Commons.

 

[Desert Shrimper]

With the country in **** street, haven't we got better things to be doing than endless bickering about MPs expenses? Kick them all out and start again....

 

[Yer Blues]

With the country in **** street, haven't we got better things to be doing than endless bickering about MPs expenses? Kick them all out and start again....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKnxmkOAj88

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

Tradition says the the Speaker goes immediately, however given New Labour's record of ignoring the will & tradition of Parliament they'll want him to stay on. By going immediately it will force a by election which all likelihood they will lose.

Tradition (aka convention, which is what makes up our constitution) also says that the speaker is independent of government, yet this jobsworth attempted to re-write the constitution so that only the government can get rid of him. It was cringe worthy to watch him squirm about and try and keep a job he just isn't qualified for.
How embarrassing was it, for him to have to ask the clerks for help on the procedural points

Such is his lacking of understanding of Parliamentary tradition, I wonder if he even got Sir Patrick Cormack's Norway jibe.

Politics isn't my strong point, but are the mp's using this guy as a scapegoat to deflect to spotlight away from the fact that they are all a bunch of lying, thieving scumbags?

Yes, but it is also a convenient excuse to get rid of an incompetent who isn't up to the job. Martin was a political appointment by the Labour whips, who had no business intervening in what should have been a free vote. Since then he's been inept on a number of issues and partisan in what should be an independent non-political role. He should have gone over the Green affair. Given his wife's shopping habits, he's got no moral authority to sort out the mess over expenses and has hindered the attempts to bring about transparency. Good riddance.

With the country in **** street, haven't we got better things to be doing than endless bickering about MPs expenses? Kick them all out and start again....

Are you wanting Her Maj to dissolve parliament and call an election?

 

[Matt the Shrimp]

I have to say, I'm delighted he's gone. His appointment smacked, I'm afraid, of pretty grubby politicking by Labour in the first place; convention dictated that following the (ex-Labour) Boothroyd, a Tory or Lib Dem speaker ought to have been installled, especially with Labour in Government. However, so formerly power-starved and now power-crazed were they, the Labour whips foisted a Labour MP onto the House, and we've been stuck with him ever since.

He will not be missed; his removal will be seen, I think, as the first physical crumbling of the new Labour parliamentary edifice.

Hope they vote in Sir Ming!

 

[Napster]

It'll be Frank Field. Although I like the idea of Bercow.

ps Martin was supposed to be one of us - a working-class man done well. But greed took over.

 

[Desert Shrimper]

Are you wanting Her Maj to dissolve parliament and call an election?

Well why not....best to give everybody a fresh start rather than have an unelected Prime Minister heading up a collection of freeloaders and lightweights.

 

[Matt the Shrimp]

It'll be Frank Field. Although I like the idea of Bercow.

ps Martin was supposed to be one of us - a working-class man done well. But greed took over.

Field would be disappointing. We've had two Labour speakers in a row - it's time for someone else to have a crack.

Martin was one of 'them' - chippy, partisan and a career politician.

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

I have to say, I'm delighted he's gone. His appointment smacked, I'm afraid, of pretty grubby politicking by Labour in the first place; convention dictated that following the (ex-Labour) Boothroyd, a Tory or Lib Dem speaker ought to have been installled, especially with Labour in Government. However, so formerly power-starved and now power-crazed were they, the Labour whips foisted a Labour MP onto the House, and we've been stuck with him ever since.

He will not be missed; his removal will be seen, I think, as the first physical crumbling of the new Labour parliamentary edifice.

Hope they vote in Sir Ming!

Think his dodgy expenses claims has probably scuppered his chances.

It'll be Frank Field. Although I like the idea of Bercow.

ps Martin was supposed to be one of us - a working-class man done well. But greed took over.

Martin was a union man, rather than a working-class man done good.

Field is certainly independent, but I think he might be a bit too independent for the Labour whips.

Bercow is an interesting one, always comes across as slimy. He started out as a real Thatcherite and had some sort of S/Pauline conversion and flipped to be one of the wettest Tories out there.

I'd quite like a constitutional expert, someone like the aforementioned Sir Patrick Cormack, but I expect they'll want a reformer like Field.

Well why not....best to give everybody a fresh start rather than have an unelected Prime Minister heading up a collection of freeloaders and lightweights.

Would be incredibly exciting if it happened, but I think it's only the type of thing that happens in political dramas.

 

[Napster]

Field would be disappointing. We've had two Labour speakers in a row - it's time for someone else to have a crack.

Martin was one of 'them' - chippy, partisan and a career politician.

Maybe, but Field has a lot of cross-party support. I prefer Bercow anyway - an excellent speaker.

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

Maybe, but Field has a lot of cross-party support. I prefer Bercow anyway - an excellent speaker.

The speaker doesn't do much speaking though. They need to be more a procedure type of person.

 

[Napster]

The speaker doesn't do much speaking though. They need to be more a procedure type of person.

Come on - Martin had no authority yesterday - couldn't speak his way out of a paper bag. We need someone who has authority, is independent - the clerk can deal with the procedural side.