YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Michael Martin is going to announce is resignation

[FabulousBakerGirl]

I hope it is today.

"MM comes from a deprived background himself"
What has that got to do with anything?

"What Edam said. MM is no innocent victim in all of this. His behaviour has been outrageous. And he's a twat."
Seconded. I am even more outraged that he is trying to play class war and claim that it is some sort of vendetta against the Gorbals or his accent. It's quite simple - he had to go because he was rubbish at his job.

Are we going to get a non-Labour Speaker this time?

The point that he was trying to get away with parachuting his son into his seat @ the next election appears to have been overlooked - I find that pretty shocking. Prescott tried the same thing.
Just hope MM does not get a perage - that would the ultimate insult to all the decent and honest people who despite coming from at least as deprived backgounds have self-respect and integrity.

Thing is that MM (for a whole variety of reasons, some of them nothing to do with his abilities) has never been a good Speaker. He probably was a poor choice to start with, as he was not supported by the leadership (always going to make things more difficult) and not felt to be non-partisan. So a bit of an upward struggle there. Then he does appear to be a bit of a bully, ready to blame others when things have gone wrong (eg the police involved int he Damian Green affair both say that the official they dealt with spoke on the phone to MM when they were there, and yet he has claimed it was entirely her fault they were allowed in).

Then the Fees Office was under his control. The rules set for it were clearly too vague, and accounting was far too club like (but then the HoC has operated like a gentleman's club for many many years) but there were calls for reform, and the rules set in 2005 clearly say that expenses will be subject to FOI. He fought them tooth and nail, even pressing on with appeals when his own lawyers told him not to. OK so the senior officials might also have been keen on secrecy (I bet they were), but he was their boss, so no way did they act on their own (they would have had to have his OK for the legal bills alone).

And don't lets forget that they have still not complied with the FOI request, even backed up by the High Court. We only know (certainly in such salacious detail) because someone leaked the information to the Telegraph, and his response to the leak - get the police on to it.

I feel no pity for him at all, indeed he should have resigned earlier instead of waiting until he was pretty much evicted.

I do agree that there is a lot more house clearing to be done, but I really think the parties would be committing electoral suicide if they don't take some pretty decisive action.

the fact that he comes from a deprived background is just that - he's not a plummy old etonian. he did have a 'compelling rags to riches story' and it meant that people could work their way up from nothing to a position of great power. that means something to people in his constituency - people in Springburn feel personally aggreived because of the whole 'gorbals mick' tag and the belief that he was ineffectual because he is from a working class background and has a weegie accent.

I do agree that he hasn't acted properly and that taxpayers money has been spent incorrectly in trying to hide the absolute misuse of public funds by 99% of 'honourable' members, but he was by no means the worst individual claimant and I still believe he is being made an example of, when there are people who have their parsnips buttered so throughly that they should be prosecuted. there is, as far as i can see no criminal case against Michael Martin and he has been scapegoated. it certainly doesn't excuse the ations of others.

ugh at typos due to early hour.

Don't feel too sorry for him - he's getting a 1.4m pension - at least £38k per year according to GMTV

AND a peerage - every former Speaker has, doubt Brown will dare to keep Martin out.

MM's fan club have now moved on to the even more ridiculous claim that he's been ousted because of anti-Catholic prejudice. Bloody hell, this lot are idiots, aren't they...?

Btw, I woudn't say it's 99 per cent of MPs with their fingers in the till. Someone totted up everyone who has been exposed in the past fortnight and it looks like 1 in 8. And that the Telegraph has run out of revelations.

That's appalling, but it's not 99 per cent.

I think it's a bit of both: prejudice against him because of his accent, working class roots etc, but also if he had been better at his job he would have risen above all these criticisms and been treated with the respect he would have deserved.

Personally I think he was out of his depth and he, or his 'advisors', should have realised that earlier.

at whoever said 'Who does he think he is, Prince Charles?'. He's another one who doesn't know what he's doing, and is ghastly mixture of arrogance and ignorance, and he's certainly not working class.

Edam, there's no doubt he was hounded out. Someone's nasty to the press, they get a rough ride in the papers. And journalists hold looooong grudges.

"the belief that he was ineffectual because he is from a working class background and has a weegie accent. " I don;t know anyone who thinks that, though I can see how MM and his supporters would find great comfort in beleiveing it.

He has been ineffectual for some time (possibly forever but only terribly noticeable over MP's expenses).

His response back in Dec to police being allowed to search HOC offices of an MP without a proper warrant was pathetic.

Quite, Lyra, I am one! (Look at Heather Mills... although that's a pretty extreme example given she'd stolen the identity of a journalist with the same name. NOT a bright move.)

betty boothroyd who was universally respected was a working glass girl who went to local state schools and worked as a dancer before she became a secretary and then an MP.

Didn't see any great prejudice against her becuase of her working classness ... oh yes that would be because she was extremely competant.

Btw, I have met Prince Charles a few times (at work dos) and I think half his trouble is that while he has good manners, his entourage are extremely rude and self-important, especially to journalists. No wonder the poor sod gets such a bad press.

Who for Edam? National or local?

They don't learn, do they?

Am freelance, for anyone who will pay me! (But yes, national not local, locals near me are freesheets. Magazines, mainly - used to edit a fairly well-respected one.)

'"MM comes from a deprived background himself"
What has that got to do with anything?'

Seconded!

'"What Edam said. MM is no innocent victim in all of this. His behaviour has been outrageous. And he's a twat."'

Thirded - in spades.

I do like it when other people post for me!

Edam put my thoughts down very succinctly. No-one likes to see the downfall of another human being, but MM did bring this unpleasantness upon himself. Watching the scenes in parliament yesterday certainly made me feel uncomfortable, but that is not to say that the man did not have to go.

He made all attempts to block the publishing of MPs expenses, his behaviour towards Kate Hoey (sp?) was totally uncalled for, and he was far from straight about the Damian Green affair. We live in a democracy, and opposition politicians must be allowed to carry out their duties of opposing the government. We have sacrificed too many liberties in the name of national security, and allowing the police into parliament because of embarressing leaks is unacceptable.

Years ago, politicians used to step aside when they had performed poorly. What has happened to wanting to spend more time with my family or stepping aside for health considerations? It seems the only MP who ever does the decent thing these days is Peter Mandelson. He was kicked out of jobs for fasting tracking a passport application, when it turned out that actually he hadn't, and taking a favourable loan from a colleague. That looks like small fry now, doesn't it!

I realise that MM has now stepped down, but to clarify my previously post, had he stepped down earlier, he would have spared everyone, and most of all himself, from the humiliating scenes yesterday.

Why, thank you kindly, Aston and Mad!

Lenin, am not surprised someone with your pedigree is sticking up for the common man. But as Stalin would say, he's become bourgeois, and we know what happened to them. eek!

I am working class but have a posh accent thanks to mothers scholarship to public school.

Confuses the shit out of everyone!