Speaker Michael Martin to resign today

[panzerfaust]

Source: Guardian (UK)

Michael Martin will this afternoon announce his plan to resign as Commons Speaker, it was revealed today.

The news came as an unprecedented motion appeared on the House of Commons order paper, signed by 23 MPs, calling for Martin to resign because of his failure of leadership over the expenses scandal...

The Speaker will be the most high-profile casualty of the expenses catastrophe. Some MPs believe that he has been made a scapegoat for the failure of the Commons as a whole, although Martin has faced persistent accusations of incompetence since his election in 2000...

... what seems to have persuaded Martin to go was the reaction when he made a statement in the Commons yesterday apologising for his role in the expenses affair. In scenes for which there is no precedent in modern times, MPs from all sides of the house told him to his face that he ought to go.

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/may/19/speaker-michael-martin-to-resign

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Though the amounts of money are, by any usual governmental or corporate standard, small - what seems to have triggered the deep anger in the UK is the apparent unrelenting greed of (the great majority of) Members of Parliament in maximizing what they could claim from the public purse.

Claiming items from tampons to lightbulbs to barbecue sets seems to imply a petty greed and willingness to spend time making certain that not a ha'penny escaped their clutches that seems beyond belief - especially in those who are supposed to be devoting their energies to Great Concerns of State.

And, that is leaving aside the propriety of claiming for pornographic rental movies, moat cleaning, and tennis court repairs; not to mention those who were so blatant as to claim reimbursement for long paid-off mortgages, a married pair of MPs who each claimed different primary and secondary homes, and those several who had the public pay for renovations to a second home, sold that property at a profit, declared a new second home, had renovations done ...

This crisis which will, hopefully, lead to a more representative and direct method of choosing MPs - and of thus being able to hold them to account - is one brought on Parliament itself by its outright betrayal of any sense of public responsibility. They had their heads in the trough all the way up to their arseholes - which is what most see them as now.

Our "Congressional Leaders" are no better (and their thieving on much grander scale) - but at least we have a chance to throw them out in the next primary. Brits, under the current system, do not have even that measure of control over those who steal pennies from deadmen's eyes.

[pleah]

1. K&R

[dipsydoodle]

2. Good

Wanker

[Captain Hilts]

3. Jolly good! nt

[Ian David]

4. Michael Martin is resigning to spend more time watching porn with his family. n/t

[T_i_B]

10. That was Home secretary Jacqui Smith's husband

whose one-handed viewing habits ended up on expenses.

Speaker Martin was simply the man in charge of the whole system, who spent a great deal of public money trying to prevent details of MP's expenses coming to light.

[Ian David]

13. Then he's resigning to spend more time with his family buying porn for Martin? n/t

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

5. Boyee...

This is a shakeup, with a populist bent, that Commons has needed for a while. While they were getting greedy and sloppy, they were passing some of the worst laws on the planet.

Now, if the British people can only use this as a wakeup call...

[LeftishBrit]

6. I agree that they need a shake-up...

either they are blatantly corrupt, or in some cases they're inattentive to their own financial affairs and relying on corrupt accountants. The latter would be less of a problem, if it weren't associated with their being similarly inattentive to the country's financial affairs and relying on corrupt bankers!!!!!

However, I'm a bit worried that it could be the wrong kind of wake-up call for many citizens: i.e. that it might lead to a Tory victory. If you think that New Labour passed bad laws, you should have seen the Tories! Of course, the two have been pretty similar - that's a large part of the problem - but the Tories as a group are still worse; and especially disastrous in times of recession, given their penchant for cuts, and lack of interest (at best) in preventing unemployment. Unfortunately, memories of the sheer awfulness of the Tories are fading after 12 years, especially among younger people, and especially with our tabloids being what they are - basically the equivalent of America's RW talk-shows- I fear that the Tories will get back in.

[panzerfaust]

8. Yes, Minister.

Unless a new party suddenly arises (which seems most unlikely) it is difficult to imagine that the Tories (Republicans) will NOT get back in.

To his credit, I did think that Cameron (Tory Party leader) did take much more rapid, drastic, and needed steps upon the outbreak of the scandal than did Gordon Brown (The Prime Minister). Of course, being The Opposition (the party not in power) he had both more latitude in action, and less to lose.

It is also hard to see how Tony Blair (previous PM, widely - and completely correctly - known as "Bush's Poodle") could have been a better Tory had he been an actual party member.

Still, I must agree with you that given how far towards a police state Britain was moved by "New Labour" (? Obama Democrats), it is difficult to not imagine a Tory government bringing 1984 to the UK in 2010.

[LeftishBrit]

12. A Tory government wasn't that far off bringing 1984 to the UK in (and around) 1984!

The 'Iron Lady'; 'sus' laws; obsession with the Official Secrets Act; and worst of all, the savage crushing of the trade unions.

Bad as New Labour have been, I don't want any repetition of Thatcher.

[LeftishBrit]

7. Good - he's hopeless anyway.

'Our "Congressional Leaders" are no better (and their thieving on much grander scale) - but at least we have a chance to throw them out in the next primary. Brits, under the current system, do not have even that measure of control over those who steal pennies from deadmen's eyes.'

Actually we do - that's what 'deselection' means (as in the thread the other day). Not that easy under normal circumstances, but the Labour Party are now very belatedly trying to purge the obvious crooks and idiots, so I think at least some will get thrown out.

The real problem is how to get a reasonable and competent Prime Minister, and I think that's pretty unlikely; there isn't even an obvious candidate. The Tories would NOT be an improvement as a government, and that's putting it mildly.

While I always thought Gordon Brown was too RW, I thought he was at least competent; so I'm getting pretty disappointed there.

[T_i_B]

11. This is why I'm now banging on a feature of the US system

...that could well be use use over here in exceptional circumstances such as we are in at the present time.

I am referring to recall elctions. I think there's quite a few MP's out there who probably do need to be recalled. I only wish it wasn't so.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x5665652

[grantcart]

9. UK Commons speaker steps down over expense scandal

Source: Associated Press

LONDON (AP) -- The powerful speaker of the British House of Commons resigned Tuesday because of a backlash over excessive expense claims by lawmakers, marking the first time in three centuries a speaker has been forced out.

Though Michael Martin has not been caught up in recent revelations about lawmakers expenses - reimbursements for chandeliers, moat cleaning and mortgage payments have outraged taxpayers - he was blamed for creating a climate in which such excesses were allowed.

In an extremely short statement to the House of Commons, Martin said he would leave the post June 21 to maintain "unity" in Parliament's lower chamber.

"This will allow the house to proceed to elect a new speaker," Martin said. "This is all I have to say on this matter."

He then moved on to other parliamentary business.

Martin resisted reforms designed to make lawmakers' expenses more transparent and fought to block publication of the expense claims. But lawmakers themselves have been reluctant to expose their sometimes lavish spending, and Martin's defenders said he was taking the fall for their avarice.



Read more: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_BRITAIN_LAWMAKERS_EXPENSES?SITE=CADIU&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

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Heard this guy trying to defend himself on NPR yesterday and wondered how such an inarticulate fellow could become speaker.

[T_i_B]

14. Wondering how such an inarticulate fellow could become Speaker?

Michael Martin was elected Speaker in 2000, when Tony Blair had a massive commons majority and New Labour wanted a speaker more to their liking. He soon gained a reputation for not being 100% impartial, although that's going to be seen as the very least of his failings in the job.

[LeftishBrit]

16. I've heard it suggested that he was co-opted and didn't really want the job

Which could explain both his extreme sloppiness in the job, and his relative readiness to resign.

Why they wanted him in particular, is another matter. Maybe just because they knew he'd probably let them get away with murder?

I wonder who the replacement will be. I hope not some far right-winger. At least, Ann Widdecombe seems to have ruled herself out.

[T_i_B]

18. It's not a qustion of whether the replacement is from the right or the left.

It's more a question of their ability to be impartial and to uphold (and increase) parliamentary authority and standards. And given the current problems, a willingness to reform the expenses system away from the mess of the Martin years is kinda needed as well.

[LeftishBrit]

19. I agree, reform of the expenses system is needed yesterday

And the British Speaker is supposed to be impartial, but I don't think Widdecombe would have been.

Just basic competence would be a step up from Martin, I suppose.

[Nihil]

17. "a reputation for not being 100% impartial"!!!

That takes its place along with "Genghis Khan was not friendly to his enemies"
and "George W Bush was not very educated" ...

Martin is a complete twat who has every negative aspect of a politician
maxed out in his character but with no redeeming features.

Bastard should have been kicked out at least eight years ago.
:grr:

[Vidar]

15. We'd promote him in the wrteched US.Good for Britain.