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May 19 Speaker Michael Martin quits "to maintain unity"
(Image © PA)
What’s happening?
Michael Martin has resigned as Speaker of the House of Commons over the MPs’ expenses scandal – the most high-profile victim of the crisis and the first speaker to be forced from office in more than 300 years. Twenty-three MPs signed a motion calling for him to step down for his role in trying to keep parliamentary expenses secret. When campaigners first tried to uncover details under the freedom of information act, the Commons Commission – of which Martin was chair – fought the case in the high court. It eventually lost and agreed to publish details later this year. When the Daily Telegraph published leaked claims, however, Martin drew further criticism by calling for a police investigation.
What are people saying?
Addressing the House of Commons at 2:30pm today, Martin spoke only briefly to confirm he would stand down on June 21 “in order that unity can be maintained” in the House. After the announcement, Tory MP Douglas Carswell told BBC News: “The key is that the next speaker owes their position to the legislature as a whole. There is a duty to create a House of Commons that works. Changing the speaker is the beginning of a far-reaching process of reform.” Labour MP Sir Stuart Bell, a close ally of Martin, said: “He paid a heavy price for trying to be an establishment figure when the establishment was corrupt.” Angus Robertson, leader of the SNP in Westminster, reiterated calls for a general election. “This is a much bigger problem than one person,” he said. Harriet Harman, leader of the House, described the decision as “an act of great generosity to the House of Commons that MPs from all parties will respect.”
Why should we give a damn?
Some say Martin’s departure will herald the beginning of the end of the current crisis gripping Westminster; others say the issue of how to restore public faith in politics is yet to be resolved. Blogger Guido Fawkes describes Martin as “one of the most outrageous examples of personal enrichment at the public’s expense while pretending to be a public servant.” Guardian political commentator Michael White disagrees: “It is wrong to blame him for the decay of parliament; he has been a symptom, not the cause.” Either way, the move is expected to pave the way for a radical reform of parliament. Senior Labour MP Sir Stuart Bell told the Press Association: “I can tell you the Cabinet... will approve a series of reforms which will place the House of Commons in the hands of independent regulators rather than the House itself. The nature of the role of the speaker will change. There will no longer be a speaker who is in charge as chief executive. He will be procedural and ceremonial.”
Will that be enough to clean up Westminster? Your thoughts...
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