Clegg: Martin should go
PRESSURE on Michael Martin to step down as Speaker of the House of Commons was mounting last night, after Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg called for his resignation over his handling of the MP expenses scandal.
In an unconventional move for a party leader, Clegg said that the Speaker is a “dogged-defender” of the status quo at a time when radical reform is urgently needed.
Martin will today address MPs on the issue of the expenses problem, and is expected to make one last attempt to save his position.
However, a motion of no confidence against Martin is expected to be put forward by a cross-party group of MPs, including Kate Hoey – who was rebuked by the Speaker for raising the issue of expenses in the Commons last week.
If ousted, Martin would be the first Speaker to be sacked since 1695.