Tag Archives: michael martin

The weekend debate: Should former MPs get to keep their parliamentary passes?

By Carl Quilliam | Published 17th December 2011 - 8:55 am

Here’s your starter for ten in our weekend slot where we throw up an idea or thought for debate…

This week saw the revelation in the Independent that there are now 326 former MPs who hold Former Members’ Passes.

The passes allow them access to bring guests into the House of Commons and book restaurants with family in the Palace of Westminster. The Independent raises worries that former MPs may be using these passes to further there lobbying careers.

Former speaker Michael Martin introduced the scheme to allow former MPs to keep up with friends in Parliament but should former MPs have …

Posted in Op-eds, Parliament | Also tagged lobbying, weekend debate | 16 Comments

Daily View 2×2: 3 July 2009

By Stephen Tall | Published 3rd July 2009 - 1:00 pm

2 Big Stories

Is homphobia still rife on the Tory benches?

That’s the allegation from Labour cabinet minister Ben Bradshaw:

Ben Bradshaw has said “a deep strain of homophobia still exists on the Conservative benches”. Mr Bradshaw, one of three gay men currently in the cabinet, made the comments as a new poll suggested more gay people were turning to the Tories. Chris Bryant, another gay minister, said: “If gays vote Tory they will rue the day very soon.”

For what it’s worth I suspect that equality for gay people is the one area where the Tories have genuinely changed over the years …

Posted in Daily View | Also tagged ben bradshaw, commons speaker, costigan quist, david cameron, equalities, house of lords, iain dale, jonathan calder, mark thompson | Leave a comment

LDV Members’ Survey – MPs’ expenses (6): your views about the Speaker

By Stephen Tall | Published 25th May 2009 - 10:20 am

Almost a week ago, LDV emailed those Lib Dem party members signed-up to our private discussion forum inviting them to take part in a survey focusing on MPs’ expenses. Many thanks to the 240+ of you who completed it; we’ve published the results in full on LDV over the last few days. You can catch up with all our past exclusive LDV members’ surveys by clicking here.

1.

LDV asked: Now that the Speaker of the House of Commons, Michael Martin, has resigned a handful of Liberal Democrat MPs have been suggested as the new Speaker. It has …

Posted in LDV Members poll | Also tagged alan beith, commons speaker, house of commons | 1 Comment

“Touché, Mr Speaker!” (It’s pronounced ‘Touchy’)

By Stephen Tall | Published 20th May 2009 - 6:57 pm

If you haven’t seen it, here’s the moment the outgoing Speaker Michael Martin forgot to call Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg – the man who last Sunday called for him to quit – for his traditional supplementary question at today’s Prime Minister’s Questions:

You can watch the full PMQs’ exhange at the BBC site HERE – and catch up with LDV’s Alix Mortimer’s live(ish)-blog HERE.

Posted in News | Also tagged nick clegg, PMQs | 3 Comments

LDV readers say: 85% wanted Michael Martin to quit

By Stephen Tall | Published 19th May 2009 - 12:50 pm

Well, y’know, I’m personally convinced that Michael Martin must have been finally convinced to quit when he saw the overwhelming result of LDV’s over-night poll showing 85% of readers thought he should quit now. So much more likely than that the Prime Minister instructed him to resign voluntarily.

Here, for the record,is what you said in response to the question, “Do you think the Speaker of the House of Commons Michael Martin should resign over his handling of the MPs’ expenses row?”

>> 85% (137 votes) – The Speaker should resign now – reform cannot wait until the general election.
>> 9% (15)

…

Posted in News, Parliament, Voice polls | Also tagged douglas carswell, house of commons, mps expenses, nick clegg | 4 Comments

Speaker Michael Martin to resign

By Helen Duffett | Published 19th May 2009 - 10:47 am

Sky News reports that Commons Speaker Michael Martin will resign this afternoon, over the MPs’ expenses scandal.

Martin is expected to make a statement to the House of Commons at 2:30pm today.

Posted in News, Parliament | Also tagged mps expenses | 4 Comments

First reactions to the Speaker’s statement on #MPexpenses

By Mark Pack | Published 18th May 2009 - 3:42 pm

Two Liberal Democrat MPs have twittered their views on Michael Martin’s statement:

@joswinson resisting even debating the no confidence motion is the wrong path to take, this problem won’t just go away #MPexpenses

@lfeatherstone Speaker does not get it Another mtg is not the answer #MPexpenses

What’s your view? The comments thread awaits… (and by all means all post up links to any other responses you spot).

Posted in News | Also tagged jo swinson, lynne featherstone, mps expenses | 14 Comments

The LDV 2×2 Daily View (18/05/09)

By Helen Duffett | Published 18th May 2009 - 7:50 am

At no cost to the taxpayer, Lib Dem Voice brings you this morning’s picks from the news and blogs (still dominated by the revelations about MPs’ expenses):

2 Big Stories

From FT.com:
Commons Speaker battles to keep job

Michael Martin, the Commons Speaker, will today make a desperate appeal to stay in his job, as MPs plot to make him the most prominent casualty of the Westminster expenses furore.

Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrat leader, broke with convention yesterday in calling for Mr Martin to resign. David Cameron, Tory leader, refused to say how he would vote in a confidence motion to be

…

Posted in Daily View, News | Also tagged jo swinson, nick clegg | 1 Comment

Clegg calls for Speaker Michael Martin to quit

By The Voice | Published 17th May 2009 - 10:09 am

Lib Dem leader has become the first party leader publicly to call on House of Commons Speaker Michael Martin to quit. The BBC has the story:

Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg has called on Commons Speaker Michael Martin to stand down, saying he has become an obstacle to much-needed reform of Parliament. Mr Clegg said the speaker should do the “decent thing” and step aside, saying he was not the “right man” for the job. He criticised the speaker for “dragging his feet” over the issue of MPs’ expenses, causing such public anger. …

By becoming the most senior politician –

…

Posted in News | Also tagged house of commons, nick clegg | 10 Comments

Speaker to face yellow peril?

By The Voice | Published 15th May 2009 - 5:46 pm

The Times reports:

Suspicions that the Liberal Democrats are to lead a move to oust the Speaker grew today after a top party figure hinted that a critical Commons motion could be lodged.

Vince Cable, the party’s deputy leader, disclosed that there would be a party statement about Michael Martin next week after Chris Huhne, the Home Affairs spokesman, made an outright call for the Speaker to go.

Mr Cable said that he and the Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg were expecting to make a statement on the issue of the Speaker on behalf of the party within the next few

…

Posted in News, Parliament | Also tagged chris huhne, kate hoey, norman baker, vince cable | Leave a comment

The LDV 2×2 Daily View (14/05/09)

By Helen Duffett | Published 14th May 2009 - 9:05 am

2 Big stories
MPs’ expenses still dominate today’s headlines, but in a kind of Vote Match for retail therapy fans, the Times has: MPs’ expenses: what those purchases tell us about their characters.
The Guardian reports that Speaker of the House of Commons Michael Martin is facing pressure to quit after his strong words over the expenses row this week.

2 Must-read blog posts
Meanwhile, back on the campaign trail, two women bloggers get on with the air and ground war.

Fiona Whelan dons her comfy shoes and attends to “pavements, pot holes and other things that need to be …

Posted in Daily View | Also tagged alison wheeler, fiona whelan | Leave a comment

Opinion: The gloves are off for the Man in Tights

By Benjamin Mathis | Published 13th May 2009 - 6:45 pm

The House of Commons is an odd place. People try to pretend they don’t know one another’s names even when they do. There’s the curious, formalised sparring by red-faced men who actually quite like each other. And the whole affair is officiated over by a middle-aged metalworker in hosiery, and sometimes a curious wig, referred to only as Mister. It’s like the most surreal fetish party in the world.

Now the first rule of Mister Speaker’s Club is that you do not talk about Mister Speaker. MPs will go on record to criticise their opposing number’s finances, living arrangements, office staff …

Posted in Op-eds, Parliament | Also tagged house of commons | 9 Comments

The LDV 2×2 Daily View (12/5/09)

By Stephen Tall | Published 12th May 2009 - 9:34 am

Welcome to what’s intended to be a daily feature here on LDV: an early preview of the two big news stories of the day, and a click-though to two of the must-read Lib Dem blog posts just published. Each day a member of the LDV collective will take their turn to bagpipe fact into news*.

2 Big Stories

MPs’ expenses: paying bills for Tory grandees
The Telegraph has the most enjoyable schadenfreude story of the day, with the latest set of MPs’ expenses revelations this time focusing on the ‘estate-ocracy’ of Tory MPs. Particular faves include:

Douglas Hogg (aka 3rd Viscount

…

Posted in Daily View | Also tagged alan haslehurst, david davis, douglas carswell, douglas hogg, fiona whelan, nich starling, nick clegg, norman baker | 1 Comment

Secrecy row over MPs’ foreign trips

By Helen Duffett | Published 8th February 2009 - 8:36 pm

The Speaker of the House of Commons, Michael Martin, has blocked the release of details about MPs’ foreign trips with the British Council.

From The Telegraph:

Since February 2007, 12 MPs have travelled overseas with the British Council to destinations including Thailand, India and Malawi, often at a cost of thousands of pounds.

MPs must normally declare any hospitality they receive from outside organisations, and the British Council does not appear on a list of bodies whose gifts are exempt from the requirement.

When The Sunday Telegraph used the Freedom of Information Act to ask the Commons authorities why the trips were not

…

Posted in News, Parliament | Also tagged #MPexpenses, mps expenses | 6 Comments

LDV readers say: Speaker Martin should go now

By Stephen Tall | Published 22nd December 2008 - 9:42 pm

‘Greengate’ – the Metropolitan police’s incomprehensibly botched arrest of Tory MP Damien Green – appears to be the row that keeps on giving. More than three weeks after the shadow immigration minister was arrested and his Parliamentary office raided, it’s the turn of assistant commissioner Bob Quick to find himself in hot water for hot-headedly accusing the Tory party of being “wholly corrupt”.

But track-back a fortnight, and it was another authority figure who was in trouble for his unprofessional role in ‘Greengate’ – the failure of Michael Martin, the House of Commons Speaker, even to ask if the police …

Posted in Voice polls | Also tagged commons speaker | Leave a comment

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