(U.K.) Speaker announces he is to quit

Under-fire Speaker to step down

news.bbc.co.uk

Michael Martin is understood to be preparing to announce he will stand down as Commons Speaker.

The announcement is set to be made in the House of Commons later.

(visit the link for the full news article)

Edited title for clarity



[edit on 5/19/09 by FredT]

Edited to correct title to reflect the original article and added nationality for clarity.

[edit on 19-5-2009 by Crakeur]

this is a historical event, a speaker has never stepped down for over 400 years, he made his apologies yesterday for his part in the expenses fiasco, and in signs reminisent of a 19th century parliment, members wee screaming for his resignation

and these events could also force a general election.

news.bbc.co.uk
(visit the link for the full news article)

reply to post by whoswatchinwho



Well dude, if we do get an election it will be joke no? I mean who we gonna vote for when there's so many on the take ?

I think BNP would do seriously well out of all this and Nigel Farage is saying all the right things. The Uk has become a complete mess but this could be a big wakeup call for all the british sheeple, seeing the corrupt bunch of bastards that they elect to office thinking no further than the next installment of corrie.

reply to post by whoswatchinwho


I wonder if Nasty Nancy Pelosi will join the ranks of the Brit and step down as the speaker of the house.

Her eyebrows are too high for good photo opps now and her brain, although drug free, has shrunk from eating to much mad cow.

No body in the US congress has noticed yet as they all have the same plastic surgeon and they all eat at the same restaurants so to them this is perfectly normal.

I wonder if the Brits House of Commons eats American Mad Cow beef as well.

Swine Flue, Chicken Flue and Mad Cow has been bad news for the sheep in Great Britain as I hear the Speaker of the House having been effected by all three is now salivating for Mutton.

Once the government gets a taste of Mutton though I am sure that they will like it enough to tax it and place some Levi on any incoming Mutton all in the name of Fair Trade.

And if they really like it they will discover some new strange disease with which to affect any competing Mutton from the New World. Call it "Strange Mutton" or “Mutton Brain" or "Strange Mutton Brain Disease"....that’s the ticket SMBD...sounds good.

Par for the course.

Edit

I just listened to Gordon Brown but I could not understand a word he said as he seemed to be speaking English with some strange accent from the old world.

All mumbo jumbo to me or as they say in New York"its all politics."









[edit on 19-5-2009 by whiteraven]

By all accounts the Speaker is an excellent constituency MP & there's no doubt he's worked hard to get where he is today. But the job of Speaker was simply beyond him. It's not just his particularly naff performance yesterday which sealed his fate, he's made many a dubious decision in the chamber.

Given that the UK Parliament has only existed since 1707, surely this is the first time a Speaker has resigned ?

What a disappointment.

I was hoping this was going to be about U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi stepping down.

reply to post by centurion1211


That's EXACTLY what I was thinking when I saw the title. Ohh... Nancy Pelosi is being forced out and we are rid of her! No such luck I guess. That flake will hang on until the bitter end.

BTW .. her approval rating is at 18% ... that's one percent less than Rush's 19%.

Story Here

Well darn. I read the title and got excited. Then I realized that it was the British speaker of the house and got disappointed.

Well, I hope it a good move for the British.

reply to post by FlyersFan


Thats what I thought as well. Ive edited the title for a bit more clairity

This story fills me with LOATHING for all politicians. NO ONE made them claim their expenses, no one held a gun to their head and said " you MUST claim every penny".

But they're willing to see that the speaker stands down as 'he should have kept an eye on them' **cking hypocrits.

They claimed what they could 'legally' but they admit it was 'against the spirit' of the idea.

OI politicians , if you think the public might not like the thought of you claiming for chocolate bars and bags of manure then DO NOT CLAIM. It's not like your on a meagre wage like the rest of the population, WE HAVE TO MAKE DO , then so should you, lead by example for a **cking change...

Can't help but think the guy has been used as a convenient scapegoat for MP's to try put the expenses debacle behind them. Not fooling me, the issue is and should still remain on the table, there are far worse examples of government officials that should be held accountable.

reply to post by theblunttruth


He is not a government official. The Speaker is independent.

The Speaker of the House of Commons refused to introduce reform and was apart of the old fashion, Labour trade union block who was utterly partisan and tribal.

Good riddance.

Apologies and thanks to the mods for amending the headline........

one of the things I want to know now is will the speaker (martin) claim the expenses he is entitled to when he leaves...one of these expenses that he is legally entitled to is a £100,000 re-settlement fee....

as this guy owns about three houses that i know of, one of which is a huge estate, all he needs to do is get on a train back to glasgow...

Now that would surely be the most expesive train ride in history...

sorry for getting all you americans hopes up, dont worry pelosi (SP?) may go soon too.......