***Martin to resign***I'm with Tony Benn on this. There are some very grasping, greedy
MPs, a few of whom have allegedly broken the law. There are others
who have taken advantage of lax rules. There is also the majority
who've done nothing wrong at all!
Speaker Martin must be the worst Speaker in history - incompetent and
monstrously biased - but this is an exercise in shifting blame and
refocussing the spotlight. An election would enable the new Commons
to get a new speaker and this one could melt away down the Clyde.
But that election cannot wait . Effectively we have no government at
all now and there are weighty decisions to be taken. To wait another
year would be unpardonable.
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EVENING STANDARD BLOGS 19.5.09
Paul Waugh
***Martin to resign***
I'm told Michael Martin will announce any minute that he will step down. Currently checking details.
I understand he will make an announcement at 2.30pm
UPDATE: Scottish TV are now reporting this tip too. And Sky News
"sources".
I hear that Gordon Brown is holding his monthly press conference at
5pm today too. Clearly a sense of national emergency about it all...
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Sky News
Benn: Unfair to try to switch blame to Speaker
0800 Sky News, Tony Benn
"way out" by focusing blame onto the Speaker.
"Michael Martin himself last year recommended changes in the system
but Michael Martin represents the House of Commons and the House of
Commons decided this system of how they should be paid and you cannot
blame the Speaker for that.
"This idea you can put it all on the Speaker is absolutely wrong.
This cannot be turned just into a personal drama becasuse it gives
MPs a way out," he said.
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