Speaker quits 'for sake of unity'

[Ng'wanza Madaso]

Martin 'to announce resignation'
Commons Speaker Michael Martin is to make a statement later amid reports he is preparing to announce his resignation.
A spokeswoman for the Speaker said: "I can confirm that the Speaker is making a statement this afternoon and that it is about himself."

The 2.30pm statement to the House will come ahead of crisis talks on MPs' expenses with Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Tory leader David Cameron and Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg.

Downing Street said it still expected the meeting to go ahead at 4pm. Mr Brown's spokesman said: "We expect the meeting at 4pm to be with Speaker Martin."

The spokesman said Mr Brown would be holding his monthly press conference at No 10 at 5.30pm following that meeting.

Mr Martin's future was thrown into doubt following extraordinary scenes in the Commons when a series of MPs rose to demand he stand aside or allow a vote of no confidence.

Despite saying that he was "profoundly sorry" for his part in what had happened, he showed no indication that he was prepared to go.

So far the Government is resisting pressure to allow a Commons debate on a motion of no confidence in Mr Martin tabled by the Tory backbencher Douglas Carswell.

But Mr Cameron warned that the motion would have to be put to a vote if it gathered the support of a large number of MPs.

Mr Clegg indicated he could be prepared to use one of his party's opposition days - when it selects the subject for discussion - to hold a debate if the Government refuses to timetable one.

Mr Carswell, whose motion appears for the first time on the Commons Order Paper, said he believed he had the signatures of 18 MPs from the three main parties.

His backers included Labour's Kate Hoey and Lib Dem Norman Baker - the two MPs rebuked last week by Mr Martin over comments they had made, to the dismay of many MPs.

The incident brought into sharp focus the widespread unhappiness across Westminster over his handling of the whole issue of MPs' expenses - with some seeing him as an obstacle to reform of the system.

Even if Mr Carswell and his supporters are unable to force a vote, there was a feeling among some MPs that Mr Martin's authority had been damaged beyond repair by the events of recent days.

Meanwhile, in the latest disclosure over MPs' expenses, the Daily Telegraph reported the Labour MP John Austin claimed more than £10,000 for the redecoration of his London flat - which was just 11 miles from his main home - before selling for a profit.

The newspaper reported that the leftwing MP for Erith and Thamesmead had made £30,000 when he sold the flat in Southwark, south London, in 2006.

It said he then bought a new flat just 1.5 miles away, claiming £10,000 in stamp duty and other expenses incurred in the move and a further £15,000 on a new bathroom, kitchen, carpets, and appliances.

 

[Ng'wanza Madaso]

Je hii inaweza kutokea hapa nyumbani?

 

[Zogwale]

Je, inawezekana kwa Rais wa nchi yoyote kujiuzulu pale anaposhindwa kuiongoza nchi??? Isiwe tu ni kujiuzulu kwa wale wanaoteuliwa naye, bali hata yeye akishindwa kuwaongoza ili kufikia malengo ya nchi na ahadi za chama katika kuleta maendeleo basi na ajiuzulu. Isiwe tu ikawa eti mimi sikusoma ilani ya Uchaguzi kwani obectives zake ni ambiguous!!!! Hapo utachekwa kwa hauko serious, ni sawa na kusaini documents bila kusoma na kuelewa unachotaka ji commit (kujifunga).

 

[Bobby]

Je hii inaweza kutokea hapa nyumbani?

Dega you mean hapa bongo? Thubutu yako hapa hatuna hiyo tabia hata kidogo. Kuwajibika kwetu mwiko. Ingekuwa hivyo uzembe wa mabomu juzi ulioathiri maisha ya watu maelfu bila sababu Husein Mwinyi angeresign. Sijuwi ni lini tutaanza kuwa responsible maana tunapenda kuwa responsible kwenye positives peke yake negatives aha kama vile hatuoni. Shame on us!

 

[Msanii]

Jana alikuwa anatia huruma kwenye session.
Oder sir,... order please....., order sir zilikuwa haziishi mdomoni.
Lakini napenda siasa zile maana kila kitu kipo wazi na msalaba unabebwa kiukweliii.
Yaani waingereza wamewatolea macho wabunge wao mpaka wale waliotafuna Yuro mia nne na kitu. Hapa bongo itokee mbunge kala kilo tano wala haiesabiwi ni loss. watarekebisha vitabu halafu tunasonga mbele....

 

[Masanilo]

Je hii inaweza kutokea hapa nyumbani?

Forget nakumbuka mh Samweli Sitta aliisha wahi nunua panadol kwenye duka la ndugu yake na kulipa zaidi ya millioni mbili pesa wa walipa kodi! Aliendelea kupeta had leo....

 

[BAK]

Speaker quits 'for sake of unity'
BBC News Online​

Michael Martin: 'I will relinquish the office of Speaker on Sunday, 21st June'
Michael Martin has told MPs he intends to stand down, so becoming the first Commons Speaker to be effectively forced out of office for 300 years.

In a brief statement to a packed House of Commons he said he would step down on 21 June, with his successor set to be elected by MPs the next day.

Mr Martin, who will also step down as an MP, has faced criticism over his handling of the MP expenses issue.

The Glasgow North East MP has been an MP for 30 years and Speaker for nine.

It was Mr Martin's third statement on the row in eight days - the first, in which he attacked MPs who questioned his handling of the furore, was criticised by many MPs - one accused him of protecting "vested interests".

Hear hears

On Monday he apologised for his role in events but gave no indication about when he would stand down - only to be challenged by a succession of MPs who asked for a debate on a motion of no confidence in him.

In a statement to MPs on Tuesday which lasted just 35 seconds, Mr Martin said: "I have always felt that the House is at its best when it is united.

At a time when the Commons desperately needed leadership, he failed to lead

How will new Speaker be chosen?
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"In order to that unity can be maintained, I have decided that I will relinquish office of Speaker on Sunday 21 June.

"This will allow the House to proceed to elect a new Speaker on Monday 22 June."

He finished by adding "that is all I have to say on this matter" before going on to ask for questions to Foreign Secretary David Miliband.

Mr Miliband said the House would respect his wishes and pay its tributes at "a later date".

But independent MP Bob Spink, who asked the first question, paid "the warmest possible tribute" to Mr Martin - to "hear hears" from MPs.

'Aggressive attitude'

Mr Martin's spokeswoman said he would stand down as MP for Glasgow North East on June 21, sparking a by-election in what has been considered a safe Labour seat.

Later in a written statement Commons leader Harriet Harman paid tribute to Mr Martin's "passionate commitment to the House" and said he had served "with distinction".

She said: "Michael Martin's resignation today as Speaker is an act of great generosity to the House of Commons that Members of Parliament from all parties will respect."


Removing Michael Martin is not the end, it is the beginning - a new Speaker has to be reformist, they need to be progressive

Angry MPs turn on Speaker
Salmond calls for early election
By-election due in Speaker's seat
Labour MP Paul Flynn, who was among those who signed the no confidence motion, told the BBC it had been "painful" to see the Speaker forced out but it was inevitable.

But he added: "He had not recognised the seriousness of the situation and... made a disastrous situation even worse by his lack of penitence, by his aggressive attitude by his attempt to blame the whistleblowers."

Mr Martin's critics say he was the driving force behind repeated attempts by Commons authorities to block details of MPs' expenses from coming out under Freedom of Information legislation.

But his supporters say he has long been the victim of snobbery and has been made a scapegoat for a scandal that has affected all the main parties.

Meanwhile, in other events linked to the row over MPs' second homes expenses, the Metropolitan Police have said they will not investigate how details of claims came to be leaked to the Daily Telegraph.

A spokesman said it was likely the "public interest defence would be likely to prove a significant hurdle" to a criminal prosecution.

But he said officers from the Economic and Specialist Crime Command had met senior Crown Prosecution Service solicitors to discuss allegations some MPs had misused public money.

Moat cost

Gordon Brown has said no Labour MP who broke expenses rules would stand at the next election.

And former Conservative minister Douglas Hogg said he would stand down as an MP at the next general election.

He has already agreed to repay £2,200 - the cost of clearing a moat at his country estate - which had been on paperwork submitted to the Commons fees office in support of his claims.

Tory backbencher Douglas Carswell - who put forward the motion of no confidence in Mr Martin - said the Parliamentary system had fallen into disrepute with many MPs being seen as "parasites" over the expenses scandal.

But he told the BBC: "Removing Michael Martin is not the end, it is the beginning - a new Speaker has to be reformist, they need to be progressive."

Mr Martin, Speaker since 2000, is due to meet party leaders later to discuss interim reform proposals for MPs' expenses.

 

[Bluray]

Samwel Sitta, you would do well to take some notes on the question of responsibility from this fellow.