Britannia Radio

Douglas Carswell MP's  Blog    1.12.08
10 reasons why Speaker Martin must go

It's not because he's Labour.  If Mr Martin were a Tory MP, I'd be 
much less restrained in my criticism.

Here are 10 reasons why Mr Martin has to go:
1.  He appears to have given the green-light to a police raid on the 
office of an opposition MP - because the executive was embarrassed 
that the MP was doing his job.

2.  If Mr Martin seriously claims he didn't know, or did nothing, 
even worse.

3.  In the manner of compliance officials, for days his office has 
hidden behind the pathetic formula that he was following correct 
"process".

4.  Journalists tell me that there are now those briefing - by leak 
and spin, presumably? - that "It's nothing to do with me, Gov.  It 
was that Jill Pay in the Sergeant-at-Arms, that's to blame".  If it's 
true that this is what's being briefed, it's inexcusable.

5.  Mr Martin rarely intervenes to ensure that the Commons is able to 
hold government to account.  Under his stewardship, MPs with 
legitimate Parliamentary Questions have been prevented from tabling 
them by officials in the Table Office - and appeals to him have been 
ignored.

6.  He often intervenes to tell backbench MPs that their question to 
the Minister is somehow out of bounds.  When did you ever hear him 
intervene on a Minister to get them provide an answer?

7.  His handling of the MPs expenses fiasco shows Mr Martin simply 
doesn't grasp the need for transparency in public office.

8.  He was never elected in a free and fair ballot of all MPs.  He 
got the job years before the last election - in a rigged process that 
could be controlled by government whips.

9.  Even against Labour MPs, he's biased in favour of the executive. 
Remember his decision not to call one of their amendments on the 
Lisbon Treaty debate?

10. There are many other MPs - Labour, Liberal and Tory - who'd do a 
better job.

Changes to House of Commons Standing Order 1a and 1b mean that the 
next Speaker is now to be chosen by secret ballot in a free and fair 
contest - for the first time.  Bring the new arrangements forward.
The reputation of the House of Commons has never been lower.  Public 
confidence in it can only begin to be restored once we have a new, 
reformist Speaker.
Posted on 1 December 2008 by Douglas Carswell
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POSTSCRIPT from Dan Hannan's Blog
Douglas has taken up one of my ideas and, on his blog, offers ten 
reasons why the Speaker must resign. He might have added an eleventh: 
Gorbals Mick's refusal to wear the traditional wig. It may seem like 
a small thing, but it indicated an extraordinary presumption: a 
belief that he was bigger than the job, that he had no need to aspire 
to the grandeur of his predecessors. Last week, we saw the logical 
culmination of that arrogance.

If MPs want to restore their standing in the nation, they should 
start by putting a man in the chair who will embody and champion the 
dignity of their chamber.   Dan Hannan 1.12.08
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POLITICS HOME  3.12.08
Comments on Police Scandal
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Sky News at 12:12
Grieve: Mandelson not fit for public office

Dominic Grieve, Shadow Home Secretary

Mr. Grieve criticised Lord Mandelson's accusation that the Tories 
were creating a "smoke screen" out of Damian Green's arrest.

He said: "This morning, Lord Mandelson has been banging on about 
national security.  We don't believe there is any national security 
angle to it at all.

"This is fantasy land, being spun by Peter Mandelson.  This is what 
worries me so much.  The political element keeps on creeping back in.

"I don't trust Peter Mandelson.  I don't think he should be in 
political office, I don't think he's fit for it."  [Glad someone's 
said it! -cs]

He added: "Why did the government not come to us and say we're 
worried about national security?  They never did."

When asked about which parts of the Queen's Speech he would oppose, 
Mr. Grieve said: "We need to look very carefully at the immigration 
laws.  It's been suggested that there will be a requirement for 
people to produce their identity to police in the street.  That is 
completely unacceptable.

"On policing reform, the idea of elected representatives on police 
authorities is not a sensible idea.  We want to see elected Police 
Commissioners."
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BBC News at 11:23
Huhne: Speaker needs to let MPs hold executive to account

Chris Huhne, Liberal Democrat Home Affairs Spokesman

Mr. Huhne said that the arrest of Damian Green was an important 
precedent.  "Part of the history of this place is what we fought for 
during the Civil War.  We tried to remove the excessive powers of the 
sovereign."

He added: "The worry today is that what the Speaker and the Serjeant 
at Arms have done is that they've allowed the modern day of the king 
come in and turn over the offices of an MP.

"I'm not saying that MPs should not be under the law, but I think 
that the speaker and the Serjeant at Arms need to ensure that they 
are doing what MPs need them to do to hold the executive in account."
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BBC News at 11:15
Police acting in isolation from prosecution, says Andrew Lansley

Andrew Lansley, Shadow Health Secretary

Mr. Lansley said that what frustrated Members of Parliament was that 
they had no idea how the decision to arrest Damian Green was taken.

"What ought to have happened was a decision at a senior level should 
have been taken.  It's not the independence of the police that's at 
issue, it's that they seem to be acting in isolating from the 
prosecution authorities.

"Our constituents expect us to have a degree of independence from the 
executive.  Gordon Brown said that one of his objectives was to 
strengthen Parliament to hold the executive into account."
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BBC News at 11:12
Hoon: I'm confident Speaker took the right decision

Geoff Hoon, Transport Secretary

Geoff Hoon said the Speaker had a duty to "uphold the law" as well as 
upholding the rights of Parliament.

He said: "I'm confident that he took the right decision and I think 
it's important that Members of Parliament support him."

He dismissed comparisons to the situation which Speaker Lenthall 
faced in 1642 when defending Parliament against Charles I.  "Those 
were the days in which the risk of being an MP was to be locked up.

"What we're talking about is the investigation of a criminal 
offence.  What's important is that the Speaker thought that MPs 
should not be above the law.  I don't think it's right to suggest 
this is some great constitutional issue."