An inevitable finale

So Michael Martin has, at last, 'resigned' as Speaker of the House of Commons though of course he was really forced out of office, the first Speaker in 300 years to suffer such a fate. If he was to be admired today, it was the succinct no-nonsense way he delivered his resignation, effective in a month's time at which point elections will take place for the first time for a replacement. His insistence that the day's business be continued after his announcement was probably because, at that point, he couldn't stomach the intended plaudits and tributes from the mealy-mouthed, many of whom had wanted him out.



But the decision is the right one for the Commons needs drastic renewal..and at last politicians from all sides of the house are realising how urgently. The House needs a Speaker who commands respect and is beyond reproach. In addition, new measures were announced to ensure that in future an outside body will monitor and regulate MPs pay and expenses...no more a 'Gentlemens Club' as Gordon Brown put it today.

But is it too late? The disclosures have clearly shocked the British public and they are set to wreak their revenge, one suspects, in the European elections on June 4th. We could get a very strange pattern of results which , as I said in an earlier post, will probably do nothing for any sensible European representation but will be a knee -jerk.

Politicians of all camps are bracing themselves for this but the bigger worry will come in less than 12 months when a British general election is held. Will the electorate have cooled down a little in that period or are they just biding their time? Time will tell but the last few weeks have detonated a bomb under the British political system, the damage from the fall-out still incalcuable.