In the twenty five or so years I have been following politics I can never remember a single MP saying in public that they have no confidence in the Speaker of the House of Commons. This week three Conservatives broke ranks and called for the Speaker to quit. Today, Labour MP Bob Marshall-Andrews followed suit.
OK, they are only four, among 650, but if four have said it publicly you can be sure that there are dozens of others who think the same.
On a related point, I wonder if it is proper for the Speaker to chair Monday's debate on the Damian Green arrest. His conduct will form a key part of the debate. Perhaps the Speaker would be wise to ask Sir Alan Haselhurst to chair the debate. Just a thought.
8 comments:
With all due respect to Bob M-A, who is a load of fun, if he is the only non Tory who is rallying to the "cause" then I don't think Speaker Martin has much to worry about! Ming spoke rather more sense than Bob - no surprise there then...
Sorry O/T, but I'm still fuming after hearing the news bulletin on Radio 4.
Yet again, it began: "Gordon Brown has said...".
I've posted before on this subject and complained to the BBC that their news editors are pursuing a deliberate attempt to imprint our dear leader's name into our consciousness.
Paranoid? Moi? Well at least my wife agrees I've got a point.
I heard George Galloway on the radio also calling for Michael Martin to go, although he obviously has a vested interest in making sure the police don't investigate MPs.
That's why you should always choose even your paper candidates with care. Sometimes they get elected.
From the Beeb:
"Former Lib Dem leader Sir Menzies Campbell told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that the Speaker was in "a very uncomfortable position", but he said he believed Mr Martin would not step down.
He said he thought that Labour MPs would rally round Mr Martin and that the government would keep him office in order to avoid a potentially damaging by-election to replace him."
If that's true (why a by-election -can't he just step down as Speaker?) what they're really saying is that "we will allow this discredited man to continue, purely to save our own skins."
What's the plural of the word used to describe Kevin Maguire?
Beware forcing Michael Martin out as Speaker, his replacement will be another tame Labour stooge and this time one who will continue as Speaker into the next Parliament. The "convention" of alternating Labour and Conservative Speakers was broken in 1997 and does anyone believe that this Labour government will allow a new Speaker with a non-Labour mind?
This mythical alternation seems to have become an urban myth. Again, no such convention exists. No Labour MP attained the office until 1965, following four consecutive Tories. The Speaker traditionally comes from the majority party, the only exception being in 1992, when the majority(ish) party couldn't agree amongst themselves.
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