ANOTHER DARK day in the history of the British Parliament yesterday saw the resignation of House of Commons speaker Michael Martin.
Having defied a growing army of critics and hung on too long, Mr Martin finally resolved the growing crisis around his office with a statement stunning in its brevity and delaying the scheduled business of the day by less than a minute.
Twenty-four hours after the humiliation of unprecedented challenges to his authority, Mr Martin told a packed and expectant chamber: “Since I came into this house 30 years ago, I have always felt that the house is at its best when it is united. In order that unity can be maintained, I have decided that I will relinquish the office of speaker on Sunday, June 21st. This will allow the house to proceed to elect a new speaker on Monday, June 22nd. That is all I have to say on this matter.”
On rising to answer questions, foreign secretary David Miliband indicated the party leaders and MPs would pay their tributes to the departing speaker on another occasion – this clearly in accordance with the speaker’s own wishes. Mr Martin made his decision after a night of reflection amid increasing pressure on the government to make parliamentary time available for debate on a no-confidence motion.
One immediate unwanted consequence of Mr Martin’s decision for prime minister Gordon Brown and the Labour Party is a byelection in Glasgow North East in July.
Labour lost the neighbouring seat of Glasgow East to the Scottish National Party last July and must now look to defend Mr Martin’s majority against the continuing backdrop of the Westminster expenses scandal.
Mr Brown, David Cameron, Nick Clegg and the leaders of the smaller parties met yesterday afternoon with Mr Martin to consider urgent interim reforms of the MPs’ expenses and allowances system ahead of Sir Christopher Kelly’s report and recommendations scheduled for the autumn. The search was on, meanwhile, for a new speaker to begin the task of restoring public confidence and respect for parliament itself.
Douglas Carswell, the new Conservative MP who led efforts to force Mr Martin’s resignation, said yesterday’s announcement gave MPs on all sides the opportunity to create a new House of Commons, which should seek to recover not only public respect but also its power to hold the executive to account. Asked for his reaction to Mr Martin’s decision, Mr Carswell said: “It had to happen. It was not a nice business. It’s been extremely unpleasant work. I did this regretting I had to do it.”
He continued: “This gives us a unique opportunity to create a new House of Commons that is not a caste apart. We have to modernise and make it suitable for the age of YouTube.” Labour MP Sir Stuart Bell, who on Monday predicted the speaker would win any confidence vote, said he believed his friend had recognised that unity in the house was not there and had then decided to do “the noble thing”. Sir Stuart went on: “A speaker of the House of Commons must have authority. Michael Martin clearly lost it .”
Commons leader Harriet Harman issued a written statement saying: “Michael Martin’s resignation as speaker is an act of great generosity to the House of Commons that members of parliament from all parties will respect. Michael Martin has served the house as speaker with distinction. The house will have an opportunity to pay its own tributes to him before he leaves the chair. As someone who has been in the House of Commons with him for over 25 years, I know that his passionate commitment to the house is beyond doubt. The house owes him a great debt.”
As the latest drama was being played out at Westminster, meanwhile, the Metropolitan Police said that it will not investigate the leak of the details of MPs’ expenses claims to the Daily Telegraph. Ironically, it was Mr Martin’s decision to call in the police – and his bruising put-down of Labour MP Kate Hoey after she questioned it – that marked the beginning of the end of his speakership.
Ahead of yesterday’s meeting with the other party leaders, meanwhile, Mr Brown announced that any Labour MP found to have “defied the rules” with their expenses claims will be barred from standing again as a Labour candidate in the general election.