- Is Michael Martin the right man to spend the next year leading the House of Commons out of this morass?
- Should he be given another year, or should he go now?
- Can he really chair proceedings when one of the three main parties has already delivered a vote of no confidence?
A few weeks ago MPs would have reluctantly agreed to his preferred timetable. I now don't think they will. He is so damaged that his reputation is not recoverable. His attack on Kate Hoey and Norman Baker was the turning point. The fact that Nick Clegg has been so unequivocal today and that the position of the Conservatives seems to have slightly hardened judging by interviews today with Andrew Lansley and William Hague demonstrates that, as Betty Boothroyd might say, time's up.
In addition, the new Speaker needs to be chosen by this House of Commons, not the next one. It is unfair on 150-200 new MPs to expect them to be able to judge the candidates. Current MPs know the strengths and weaknesses of each of the likely candidates. Party politics should not play a part in it and for that reason Conservatives should not worry about the wrong person being chosen.
So when Douglas Carswell puts down his motion tomorrow, MPs of all parties must remain resolute and not compromise. Replacing Michael Martin is not the answer to mending our broken politics. But it is part of the answer. And it needs to happen now.
What about David Milliband refusing to give him the traditional vote of confidence on The Politics Show?
ReplyDeleteA new Speaker will be in place before the Whitsun recess
But the Tories want to leave it until the next Parliament, when they will be better placed to affect the election of Speaker. Equally, Labour fear a by-election. I suspect these tactical considerations will prevail.
ReplyDeleteHe is not fit for purpose and must not be allowed to continue.
ReplyDeleteSpeaker Martin should GO and GO NOW!
ReplyDeleteHe should not be allowed to "Pass GO" and receive a further £100,000 of taxpayers money and his £1.4 MIllion pension pot at taxpayers expense.
He should slung out in disgrace which is all he deserves.
The thieving GIT!
(you might want to remove that last bit Iian)
Stuart Bell - another out of touch "has been" who will be swept out along with the other detritus - don't bother listening to him as he certainly listens to no one other than himself!
ReplyDeleteMartin will be gone by Friday and Brown by Friday 5th June 09.
I watched the Sky interview with John Stonborough, Martin’s former Media Advisor and thought I’d refresh my memory. This is a rather interesting story from 2004: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3984945.stm
ReplyDeleteAnd you are spot on with the trigger for MPs wanting him to go now, rather than at the end of this Parliament – it was his outburst, tinged with venom and revealing his bullying style, on Kate Hoey and Norman Baker.
If Martin determines to hang on until the election, it will be for purely personal reasons and ignore the further damage he would cause.
ReplyDeleteThere must be a co-ordinated and vigorous insistence that his Speakership is over, which if necessary, ignores Brown's notorious indecision.
Looking at him when he was elected, Gorbals Mick looked the odd man for the job. The man looked not bright ( nothing to do with his sheet metal background, As an engineer in charge of a large workshop of a large manufacturing company in 1960s, I know sheet metal workers were particularly bright as they had to work intuitively with sheet meatls and machines), and he proved that he is ill-fitted to the job. His mistake was to join in other money- grabbing scoundrels to attempt to suppress the transparent process. His "ignorance" related the Green's arrest sounded silly and cop out.
ReplyDeleteGorbals Mick will collect his sumptuous pension and he should desist from promoting his dynasty.
If he had a shred of honour he would resign. Sadly he hasn't, so he must be 'sacked'.
ReplyDeleteThis could turn into one of those "Westminster Bubble" stories if things are not handled properly. MPs are on shaky ground as it is, tipping the balance won't do them much good in the eyes of a public sick of the way Westminster is seen to act.
ReplyDeleteSimon (1:49pm) considers the Tories, and a potential by-election. I have to say such thoughts cross my mind too. Monday should be very interesting, but not perhaps that decisive.
Anonymous said...
ReplyDeleteMartin will be gone by Friday and Brown by Friday 5th June 09.
-------------------
If that works out it will be a great day!
Weren't Mr & Mrs Speaker investigated for dodgy claims themselves involving flights and taxi fares etc etc in the very recent past?
ReplyDeleteIts no longer the Speakers decision to make, no more than it is Brown's to be an unelected Prime Minister.
ReplyDeleteWhilst this House remains sitting it has no legitimacy
Buck House is flashing signals like crazy, to which Brown is having 'candid' exchanges
This is a full blown Constitutional crisis and is going to get worse not better by tinkering
"fit for purpose" is almost as useless as a phrase for thinking with as that other modern refuge of the stupid - "brands".
ReplyDeleteMartin is part of the problem and need to be removed immediately.
ReplyDelete>>the Tories want to leave it until the next Parliament, when they will be better placed to affect the election of Speaker<<
ReplyDeleteAll the more reason for him to go now. This should not be a party political process. The primary qualification of any Speaker should be his willingness to stand up to the executive.
I suspect that the decision to stay until the next Election is largely influenced in his mind by the benefits he would lose if he went now. Amid all the Telegraph revelations, let's not forget Mr Martin's own disgraceful exploitation of the expenses system. A decision to retire now would bring with it a lot of pressure to own up to his own excesses, something for which he has not only never apologised but has been proud to claim as his "entitlement."
ReplyDeleteHe'll hang on for as long as possible so he can pick up his mega bonus and pension.
ReplyDeleteDavid Cameron has been Tory Leader since September 2005 - that is nearly four years, yet only now he has woke up to the fact all this is going on?
ReplyDeleteCameron is culpable in all this - he has not shown any leadership whatosever - he is MORE tainted by this than any of the party Leaders.
I want to hear why Cameron took no action to sort out this mess before this week.
What has he been doing for the last four years????
Yes, he should go because he has used taxpayers money on a campaign to suppress the information which has now been instrumental in bringing him down. He has also been rude and callous to MPs who have a perfect right to question the system. I hope he is frogmarched in handcuffs from his Chair by police officers. Whats good for us, is good for him.
ReplyDeleteTHIS IS WRONG! WE OF SIMILAR POLITICS SHOULD STAND UP TO UNFAIR TREATMENT BY THE MEDIA. THE SPEAKER IS DEMOLISHED BY THE BBC WITHOUT REPRESENTATION.
ReplyDeleteI CLAIM THAT HIS HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION INTRODUCED REFORMS THAT MPs VOTED DOWN. THIS IS NOT MENTIONED & THIS SHAMES THOSE WHO CLAIM TO WANT SOME OBJECTIVITY.
THE COMMONS & THE SPEAKER ARE TREATED WITH CYNICAL DISDAIN BY THE EXECUTIVE. MOST PEOPLE IN THIS DISCUSSION KNEW ABOUT THE JOHN LEWIS LIST ETC. FOR A LONG TIME. SO WHY NO OUTRAGE AT ONGOING ABUSES SUCH AS RESTRAINING DISCUSSION OF BILLS WHEN THERE IS NO SHORTAGE OF TIME?
TO SAY NOTHING OF FIXING THE SPEAKERS COMMITTEE ON THE DAMIAN GREEN SCANDAL!!!
BROWN, BROWN & CO. MUST BE HAPPY TO SEE THIS DISTRACTION FROM THERE CORRUPTION. HELP THE SPEAKER OUT OF THE BROWN STUFF & GIVE HIM A VOICE AT LEAST.
Totally agree. It seems he lied to the House he is supposed to chair, for heaven's sake.
ReplyDeleteHe has to, as Silent Hunter says, go and go now! Don't expect him to accept this reality, though: that's not the way 'entitlement Mick' thinks.
I would like to be a little less hysterical and derogatory about this issue.
ReplyDeleteFrankly it is not party political. It is a matter for parliament.
Michael Martin is the speaker of the parliament and therefore the leader of The Parliament. It is his job to run parliament. It was his job to supervise the fees office, members of whom complained to his often and he is reported in the Mail today to have seriously harrassed any such doubts by the Commons staff. He is at the apex of the scandal. He allowed it to happen. He presided over the Addition Cost Allowances farago. He must go because he is responsible. The MPs are guilty of rorting the system, but the system is the responsibility of the Speaker. Michael Martin resisted every effort to reform the system. He must go before the system can be reformed.
I'd like to say this to Mr Martin, before he is dead, which one day he surely will be, thank god. Eff off you effing piece of socialist S**t (written thus, so it is not censored). You epitomise everything that is abhorrent about socialism. The lying, bullying, cheating, lining of your pockets with other people's money. The blind adherence to plainly stupid and vindictive dogma. The feigned innocence when found out. The false protestations about your Christian values. Everything about you is vile, repugnant and not fit to be seen or heard in civilised society. You would do us all a great service by going now; preferably straight to the cemetary.
ReplyDeleteDissolve parliament.
ReplyDelete"The Speaker Must Not Be Allowed Another Year"
ReplyDeleteNor must this rotten parliament.prigom
I find it disgusting that 'Resigning' means nothing more than moving to the back benches.
ReplyDeleteIf an MP resigns, they should resign from parliament, and there should be a by-election.
And as for whoever gets the job of speaker getting a shoe-in in their constituency, that is just so undemocratic it spits on the eye of all their consituents.
The speaker should be a paid, independent, civilk servant.
If they allow the Speaker to keep lining his deep pockets until the next GE one can only despair and give up all hope that the Parliament of Whores can redeem itself. "Call me Dave" does not provide any hope at all in this matter.
ReplyDeleteHe should go, but he won't resign and inflict a bye election defeat on the Labour Party. Particularly as if there is an SNP incumbent at the next election it will make it harder for his son to inherit the seat.
ReplyDeleteNever in living memory can I recall a speaker so tainted, biased and incompetant than this one. For all our sakes he needs to go immediately. The party of the next speaker doesnt really matter, what does matter is the quality of that person and the strength of their personal integrity.
ReplyDeleteIronically last time round the Tories were pushing hard for Tony Benn to take it. If he had, we wouldnt be in this damn mess, thats for sure
So the mood among MPs is that the expenses row is basically the Speaker's fault for not stopping them?
ReplyDeleteAnyone see the public buying that?
Y'all don't get it I'm afraid. If you don't search for objectivity you have the mentality of the lynch mob. I know what Martin has done wrong & what he has failed to do. I'm from the other side of politics but I know we are playing into the hands of the real criminals like Gordon & Nick Brown. Also the devil is in the detail on this one.
ReplyDeleteIain, just seen your Update on Balls and local press - HAHAHAHA
ReplyDeleteGod bless 'em - are they part of Guardian Media ?!
I'd hardly call McShane as a witness for any case. Note he can't resist resorting to type:
ReplyDeleteI have attacked the snobs who have mocked you for your Glasgow accent and the fact you are not the kind of public school ex-minister who previously became Speaker.I wonder how Betty Boothroyd and Bernard Weatherall* enjoy being branded alongside Tory toffs?
*Both speakers from modest beginnings who did great honour and service to their office, IMHO.
ps Norman,
ReplyDeleteI'm gald I'm not the only engineer round here who can't spell worth a damn :-)
Comical Ali (i.e. Michael Martin writing in from Parliament Square) - shut it.
ReplyDeleteAt a time when the dignity of our Parliament has been trashed by a squalid and dishonourable intake of members who deserve the obloquy of history for their betrayal of the people of Britain, let us not also allow them to fatally injure the office of Speaker.
ReplyDeleteYes, Speaker Martin falls short of all that we require in a Speaker, and the man's humiliation today is absolute. In scorning the man, let us not damage the office; that same rancid political class who have despoiled our Parliament see Martin's dismissal as a way of earthing the charge of public anger currently directed at themselves, and in seeking to save themselves they may cause lasting damage to the office.
A second Speaker chaired by this Rotten Parliament will have the moral authority of Doenitz.
No, an election is the only thing that will answer. Anything else takes us into uncharted waters. Only an election will avoid the grave constitutional crisis to which this deeply corrupt rabble have brought us to the brink.
@ The Remittance man
ReplyDeleteAnd what about Speaker George Thomas, later Lord Tonypandy, who preceded Bernard Weatherill? A Labour MP, son of a (drunken, adulterous) miner. Hardly a toff either..
Whenever he goes, Martin will be on a winner when he takes home a lump sum, a super pension, all his past expensed income and (probably) a peerage.
ReplyDeleteI can imagine his lips being licked as he anticipates using the Lords' expenses regime to further feather his nest at our expense.
So, its 'win-win' for Martin and 'lose-lose' for us taxpayers, either way!
Ah'm gaein' naewhere, ye bunch o' scunners an' baw-bags! Ye jist dinnae get it! There's nae-ane else that Gordon can trust amongst thon bunch ae bletherin' wimmin! He'll get them a' tae vote fir me if there's ony vote an' then that'll be me sorted!
ReplyDeleteBring it oan, ya radge!
Never mind merely about 'doing the right thing'. What is it about people like Martin, elevated, surely, beyond any reasonable expectations, entitlement and competence, having earned a shed-load of cash and pension, who hang on in there when just about everyone around thinks they are a complete failure/tosser?
ReplyDeleteOne of the great unanswered questions.
There is somebody who hasn't been mentioned who can bring great pressure on Michael Martin to stand down, and that is Betty Boothroyd. Either she can make her feelings known to Martin personally, talk to tribal Labour backbenchers, or go public. Betty, your country needs you!
ReplyDeleteThe McSpeaker should go NOW!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.milfotos.org/images/e9856487235b952b9486d00614950426.jpg
A prediction for Michael Martin's statement tomorrow:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0B_UZNtEk4
Iain, do you think this will be accurate?
norman said...
ReplyDelete'Looking at him when he was elected, Gorbals Mick looked the odd man for the job...'
2.09 PM
He was given the job for one reason and one reason only.
He would do the Labour Party's bidding.
Period.
It would be rather interesting to see which MPs vote for keeping Martin tomorrow. They should be identified to the public so that the fury can be turned on them if he is allowed to stay. The British public are in no mood for pussyfooting about and are looking for action to which the majority can support. MPs can theorise over the mights and maybes when times are good, but allowing this sponger to live a second longer in this position will only antagonise!
ReplyDeleteIs there nobody in the Commons brave enough to say to him these hallowed words:
ReplyDelete"You have sat too long here for any good you have been doing. Depart, I say, and let us have done with you. In the name of God, go!"
Martin's election as Speaker was tainted by the activities of Labour whips. They were never going to entertain the thought of the likes of Gwyneth Dunwoody so the party machine went into action on Martin's behalf. The only chance for Parliament now would be to elect Frank Field or Richard Shepherd, either of whom would clean the stables thoroughly.
ReplyDelete