Speaker Pelosi sure should.

Ghost, I never knew that!

And yes, of course he should go - but if he's going to get £100,000 if he hangs around, then hopefully a vote of no confidence can be passed!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8054657.stm

Watch the video if you want to get annoyed then.

I just weep for our democracy, it makes so little difference if he stays or goes. I think he, like so many people who entered politics with the best of intentions has allowed the best of himself to be eroded away by the trappings of power.

I used to volunteer for the CAB and have seen many a person who couldn't get a crisis loan for food, or key money, or travel expenses to visit a sick relative. These are the people who politicians should be helping, and what do we see? Labour politicians claiming 20k to treat dry-rot 100 miles from there constituacy, Labour politicians paying their mortgages off and still claiming interest payments, labour politicians asking for £2500 to cover a TV. I know the tories have been as bad, but i expected it from them. When Labour politicians let you down, it just makes you want to weep.

Really? Haven't you been massively dehydrated for the last decade?

Not at all, I didn't agree with a lot of what was done, but genuinely believed that Labour members in particular still cared about epresenting the working man and strove to improve the conditions of the poor. I've always recognised the faults with our sytem, but never thought any abuse would be so widespread and perpertrated so many labour MPs. My constituency guy seems to be one of the better ones, but even I can't vote labour in the council and EU elections.

I'm just nieve I thought representing meant something apart from re-presenting expense claims.

As far as I was aware Labour was last a proper working man's party in the late eighties at best. Labour MPs are no less corrupt than any other MPs...you really think most of them are even socialist any more? They're social democrats at best (though all the parties could lay some claim to that title) and modern liberals at worst.

The Tories have got class tho... Moat repairs!

what is this about??

are you british alamothe

@hereward77I don't think labour MPs are socialist, but that doesn't mean that I thought they didn't try and represent the working (and non-working) man (and woman). I

@alamothe - the mother of all parliments has got itself embroiled into the mother of all scandals - MPs expenses. Some MPs have claimed for cleaning moats and swimming pools, changing light bulbs, mortgage interest years after they have paid their mortgages off, etc, etc, etc. The UK population is outraged and I suspect a very british coup (Lots aged celebraties, rock stars, green activitist and BNP members being elected at the next election) only for things to return to the two party status-quo at the following election.

Speaker Martin should be more careful - seven of his predecessors were beheaded, two on the same day!

Well, he's just announced he is to resign today at 2:30pm GMT. More info as I get it.

He can't even speak very well, can he? Doesn't live up to his title anyway...... Off with his robe! (not his head...)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8057203.stm

I'm surprised he has called a by-election or is that a requirement when he resigns?

More on this: Will resign on 21st June, new Speaker on 22nd June. By election will take place this year, though likely to be in the autumn rather than straight away.

SNP likely to win Martin's seat in current climate. Favourites to succeed Martin include Sir George Young the Chairman of the Standards and Privileges Committee, Frank Field the independent minded Labour MP and Vincent Cable, the Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman.

@Maniac: A by-election automatically has to occur when an MP resigns - it's how their replacement is chosen.

I wonder who will be the next speaker?

@Jamiet99uk Yes you are correct - when an *MP* resigns, it automatically triggers a by-election. However Martin is resigning from being Speaker, which is a post in Parliament. Convention dictates that Speakers resign as an MP by taking one of the Chiltern Hundreds or the Stewardship of the Manor of Northstead, however Conventions are funny things and easily broken.

@cgwhite: Yes but according to the BBC website, he is almost certainly also going to resign as an MP:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/8057400.stm

I am fed up of the media trying to 'big up' the resignation as the first speaker to be forced from office since 1690... A chap in the 1970s was forced to resign the post as he was a reknowned alcoholic... The difference being that in those days with less media attention on the Old Boys Club of Parliament, he was quietly sozzled for years and noone was too bothered!

Yes, that's true - he is going to resign as an MP. I just wanted to point out the difference between the two - one's an office, the other is the actual status of MP.

@Submariner - yes, but that Speaker had a few people approach him and ask him to retire for the good of the Commons on the quiet. Martin had that happen, refused, and see where it got him. It was an involuntary resignation, and he was forced out.

To be honest, I am completely uncertain as to whether it's a good thing or not. The role of Speaker is sacrosanct and there should be no way to remove him. However, Martin was a hopeless Speaker. It's all swings and roundabouts.

@cgwhite32 - "The role of Speaker is sacrosanct and there should be no way to remove him" - except with a headsman's Axe ;-)

The Speaker [of the House, not me] is (almost always) sent to the House of Lords. You can't be a member of both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, so there has to be a by-election to find a replacement MP.