MPs of all parties are becoming more exasperated with The Speaker by the day. The latest issue appears to be his working hours. Yesterday he left the Chamber at 12.30pm, which is par for the course for him on Thursdays because he likes to scoot off home to Glasgow. Normally it does not much matter because, thanks to the government, Thursday afternoons have become pretty empty. But yesterday it did matter because at 1.14pm, MPs started making some very serious Points of Order about the Speaker's handling of the Damian Green affair. It was left to the hapless Sylvia Heal, one of Speaker Martin's deputies, to field the questions. She said she would have a word with the Speaker about it on Monday.
What can the electorate make of a Speaker who buggers off home before lunch on a Thursday and doesn't return until mid morning on Monday?
PS And will those people who regard an attack on The Speaker as one of "class envy" please just go away. This Speaker is incompetent and is failing to carry out the duties of his office. That is a legitimate matter for comment and criticism. Stick to the issue, rather than try to divert it into a class war.
33 comments:
He does not give a sh1te does he ;-)
Fat cat pension......
Tough gig?
How long will people continue to be lectured by people who are completely insulated from the 20th century and patently could not give a shit about citizens?
It's all very well going on about only 16 months left but why the hell don't they work now? Why don't they have pride and honour in their departure? How can they comment on ASB kids, old people, unemployed, ruthless bankers - what authority do they posess if we refuse to recognize it?
Iain, I think it's very sad that with so many of your posts you have to basically sign a disclaimer at the bottom in order to prevent personal attacks being made against you.
No doubt some people will disagree with your analysis here (not me, by the way) but the frequency with which people resort to attacking you instead of attacking your arguments is very sad.
I would point anyone who thinks these attacks on The Speaker as being class based to Betty Boothroyd, who was an excellent Speaker and well respected on both sides of the house. If the attacks on Martin were class related then Baroness Boothroyd would have suffered these kind of attacks too - but they're not and she didn't!
If this is his regular habit, then that is a shocking dereliction of duty.
Perhaps he would feel more comfortable with a permanent role in the Scottish parliament?
I thought all MPs worked about 2 days a week. What's new?
Perhaps there should really be three separate Parliaments:
1/ A Tory one. This one would meet for half an hour, once a week, on a Friday afternoon, just before adjourning for a splendid dinner. The "hon" members being engaged for the rest of the week in their traditional pursuits of hedge fund insider trading, numbskull chitter chatter with Osborne & Johnson, slavering over the Daily Mail, generally ranting and bellowing etc. Adjourn on a Point of Order from Mr Bufton Tufton (Lunatic West) demanding to know why dark people have been allowed to settle within the county parish of Saffron Baldrick.
2/ A Labour one. Honest sons of toil would meet every Sunday (they are all non believers, oh yes, if you believe the Torygraph) after Vespers and before High Tea. Main topic: how to escape before the Fall. Listen to a short talk from Mr Milliband on the merits of having bright young things in contemporary ministirial posts. After a short prayer by Ms Harperson for all the poor unfortunates of the world, adjourn to the pub to feel bitter. Point of Order: That This House Moves that Mr Dale be henceforth deported to the United States on a Starbucks/Obama extradition order to face immediate prosecution for criminal acts, namely, stating in public that the Supreme Leader is not all-seeing.
3/ Everyone else. Mr Cable will tell a few timely jokes. That nice Mr Salmond will pretend to be apoplectic.
Next on BBC Parliament.
9.10am Mr Speaker Martin will rise for lunch.
Can we have Betty Boothroyd back please?
Michael 'Gorbals Mick' Martin has to be the most useless, venal, troughing and politically biased numpty ever to disgrace the office of Speaker of the House of Commons.
And yes Iain, you are right about Labour Trolls using the hackneyed old 'class war' line - Madame Speaker was a working class Labour lass, but unlike the present incumbent, she graced the position with a firm but fair hand and elicited respect and deep affection from all sides of the House.
Martin must go...
Michael Martin wanted the job for its prestige and its perks. He didnt have the ability to get these things any other way, but also lacked the humility to seek of himself the ability to perform one of democracies important tasks.
To those who talk of class envy etc they forget one basic point....the last Speaker, also Labour, Betty Boothroyd was a working class lass from Dewsbury who because she had the required ability became one of the most respected speakers the House has ever had.As was George Thomas,(Labour from Wales) for those old enough to remember.
Its not about class its about ability......end of
If the Speaker is only doing three days, the rest of them are only on three and a half - not much difference.
There is, of course, an argument for keeping all of them away from Parliament as much as possible so as to provide less opportunity for the damage they do.
There is also the question of why even their limited attendance is so necessary given that we are merely an appurtenance of the fascist regime in Brussels and 80% of our legislation stems from there.
Walsingham - I think quite a few Labour MPs saw Ms Boothroyd as a little bit of a sell-out, most particularly for her 1993 casting vote defeating the Social Chapter of Maastricht. Perhaps that's why Tories are keen to mention her as a working class Speaker with cred?
I think Martin is a bit misunderstood although only a bit. He does have a sort of low Glaswegian cunning and animal self-defensiveness. He obviously struggles under pressure. His main defect is a tendancy to side with Labour when the going gets tough but to my mind this is fairly normal, since most previous Speakers tended to side with whoever the government and the establishment was in similar circumstances.
"How long will people continue to be lectured by people who are completely insulated from the 20th century and patently could not give a shit about citizens?"
Not much longer, it seems...
"It was left to the hapless Sylvia Heal, one of Speaker Martin's deputies, to field the questions. She said she would have a word with the Speaker about it on Monday"
If this woman is his Deputy then she should be making the decisions in his absence. If Mr Speaker Martin doesn't like her decisions that's just too sodding bad. He's delegated the job. But actually she has shown herself to be incapable of deputising properly. She too, should go.
Reading Hansard is a revelation. Time and again she says that she will make Martin aware of all MPs views and the points of order - not even having heard the views of those she is about to call. Is she telepathic or something?
If Sylvia Heal is to speak to Martin on behalf of angered MPs - for him to consider their complaints in due course - there's no point whatsoever. The Conservatives should demand a full debate on the performance of, and confidence in, this part-timer. Does he seriously believe that in 'these difficult times' his Parliamentary responsibilities lie north of the Border? Probably he does. And the Conservatives should demand a complete statement on the role, functions and powers of the Deputy Speakers.
Unsworth - "she says that she will make Martin aware of all MPs views and the points of order" - this is well known in the Hise to mean "nothing at all will be done as a result of your very interesting pontifications".
The Speaker is a consumate dullard. He's been promoted way beyond his abilities - mind you, so has most of the government. I expect that is why we are somewhat up shot creek without a paddle.
But I still live in hope that one day soon, Speaker Mick will rise from his chair at about 12.10pm on a Wednesday afternoon and scream "Prime Minister, will ye' answer the friggin' question from the Leader o' the Opposition, ye power freakin' jobby"...
But then again, I still believe in Santa.
His behaviour is symptomatic of the decline of the authority of Parliamnent, the lack of respect in it by a lot of MP, especially Ministers, and consequently the low esteem in which it is held by the Electorate. He and his shoddy unprincipled party are the most culpable in causing this decline. One hopes that a change of ruling party will see an improvment in behaviour all round, but I am not sanguine that it will.
Oh I don't expect anything else from idiots like that! Parr for the course really! Tp
Gorbals Mick is an absolute disgrace. The worst speaker in living memory by a country mile.
"Class envy" btw? Really? Who's stupid enough to make that claim when the evidence of his sheer incompetence is as plain as day?
@ DispairingLiberal [10.17]
"His main defect is a tendency to side with Labour when the going gets tough but to my mind this is fairly normal, since most previous Speakers tended to side with whoever the government and the establishment was in similar circumstances."
DL - Could you really imagine 'Gorbals Mick' siding with the Government on a tight vote if the Conservatives were in power?
That is my point - the present Speaker is politically biased in a post which should be free of such bias.
Madame Speaker could never be accused of bias - as you say yourself...
"Walsingham - I think quite a few Labour MPs saw Ms Boothroyd as a little bit of a sell-out, most particularly for her 1993 casting vote defeating the Social Chapter of Maastricht."
Speaker Martin is a charlatan and must be removed.
When a speaker is forced to the position, they have to repeat "I am not worthy" many times. Martin was for once telling the truth, so they should have put him back on the benches.
lt amazes me that all the MP's just take it ... where's the anger etc? They are constantly insulted or ignored but do nothing.
@ Despairing
So now you're calling Sylvia Heal a liar, too?
Or are you saying that she'll do what she says - and that Martin will do nothing?
Thus either she's a liar or he's neglecting his duty? Possibly both.
As to the Speaker's casting vote, here's what Erskine May has to say:
"If the numbers in a division are equal, the Speaker, who otherwise does not vote, must give the casting vote. In the performance of this duty, he is at liberty to vote like any other Member, according to his conscience, without assigning a reason; but, in order to avoid the least imputation upon his impartiality, it is usual for him, when practicable, to vote in such a manner as not to make the decision of the House final"
Not that Mr Speaker Martin would understand a word of that.
Unsworth, are you by any chance still smarting over Iain's apology to me for his mistaken headline? Get over it mate. Time to move on.
Walsingham's Ghost (great name btw!) - I take your point, although presumably an incoming Con govt. would never accept the ongoing presence of Messire Martin. Nevertheless, Ms Boothroyd could (as Unsworth helpfully points out) have cast her vote as she wished - the point is that she wished to cast it with the sitting govt. and that's exactly what many, many Speakers have done in the past. I think you might be surprised by the extent to which Martin could do so if push came to shove. It's to do with all the trappings of state and free taxis Speakers get - hard to put all those comforts aside.
@ Despairing
For the record, I am not your 'mate'. I'd just rather people reading this understood that...
Are you still making threats of physical violence to people you disagree with on blogs Unsworth?
I was puzzled that Iain didn't ban you for that, as he perhaps should.
Of course like a lot of MP's (Because remember that is what he is..)he's perhaps off to his constituency to deal with problems of his constituents.
So perhaps he's not just off home for a nice long weekend.
I'm no fan of the guy but if we really want to look at MP's who take time out from being an MP on other area's that generates a huge salary where shall we start in the shadow cabinet?
Despairing Liberal - In voting against the Social Chapter, Betty Boothroyd was following the established principle that the Speaker should always vote to maintain the status quo. The Speaker will, therefore, generally vote against Opposition amendments to Government bills, especially where passing the amendment would force the Government to resign or call an election.
Unsworth - I disagree with your view that Sylvia Heal should have been "making the decisions". She was faced with members attempting to question a statement by the Speaker in ways which are not appropriate under the rules of the House. She correctly decided to tell them to raise matters in the correct way and that she would bring their concerns to the Speaker's attention. She also had other members asking her to raise matters with the Speaker - no decisions to be taken there. I have no idea whether she is a good or bad Deputy Speaker but I don't see what else she could have done yesterday.
Don't be disingenuous. Attacking the Speaker isn't about class, but "Gorbals Mick" cracks are.
Would you be as harsh on a Tory who had to look after a Scottish constituency. Oh wait...
Dosn't he get paid for 5 days work? Shouldn't he travel in his own time too, not when he should still be being the speaker?
Maybe that is why he left early!
prh47bridge -
you make fair points, but don't expct that crackpot Unsworth to accept them.
I told you last night what I think Iain....
There's only one man with enough respect, authority and independence from party tinkering to do the job and restore trust from the public.
we need DD in the chair.
Jammy sod. All over the country thousands of workers are about to join him on a shortened week.
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