.gif)
Michael Martin (politician)
Encyclopedia
Michael John Martin, Baron Martin of Springburn, PC (born 3 July 1945) is a British
politician
, who was the Member of Parliament
(MP) for Glasgow Springburn
from 1979
to 2005
, and then for Glasgow North East
until 2009. He was a Labour Party
MP until his election as the Speaker of the House of Commons in 2000, and was Speaker for nine years until his resignation in 2009.
On his election to the post of Speaker in 2000 he was the first Roman Catholic to serve in the role since the Reformation
. He resigned from the position on 21 June 2009 as a result of diminishing parliamentary and public confidence owing to his role in the parliamentary expenses scandal. He also stood down from the House of Commons on the following day.
in 1945, the son of a merchant seaman and a school cleaner. He attended St Patrick's Boys' School in Anderston
, leaving at the age of 15 to become an apprentice sheet-metal worker. He became involved in the National Union of Sheet Metal Workers and Coppersmiths and joined the Labour Party
when he was 21. He later worked in the Rolls-Royce
plant at Hillington
, and was an Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union
shop steward from 1970 to 1974.
In 1973, Martin was elected as a Labour councillor on Glasgow Corporation, a position he held until his election to the Parliament of the United Kingdom
. He also served as a trade union
organiser with the National Union of Public Employees
(NUPE) between 1976 and 1979. He was elected as Member of Parliament
for Glasgow Springburn
in the 1979 general election
. Martin is associated with the right wing of the Labour Party, and a social conservative on matters such as abortion and homosexuality. In 1994, he was one of thirteen Labour MPs who voted against the reduction of the age of consent
for homosexuals from 21 to 18. He was a supporter of Roy Hattersley
and Denis Healey
, with whom he served as a Parliamentary Private Secretary
from 1980 until 1983. He served as Chairman of the Scottish Grand Committee
from 1987 to 1997.
(one of three Deputy Speakers) in 1997. Martin was elected Speaker on 23 October 2000, succeeding Betty Boothroyd
to become the first Roman Catholic to serve in the role since the Reformation
. In accordance with a long-standing convention, Martin resigned from the Labour Party. His Glaswegian accent
led to his being nicknamed "Gorbals
Mick" by Quentin Letts
, after the working-class district of Glasgow, although he was actually born on the other side of the river from the Gorbals and represented a constituency a few miles away.
In the 2005 general election
, he stood in the new constituency of Glasgow North East
, where three quarters of children living in the constituency are classed as being in poverty. The Scottish National Party
caused controversy by standing against him both times.
Shortly after the 2005 election, when Liberal Democrat MP Patsy Calton
entered the Commons for the last time to affirm her allegiance from a wheelchair and sign register, Martin broke with tradition and left the Speaker's Chair to shake her hand and kiss her on the cheek, saying "welcome home Patsy." Calton, who had just been re-elected, had terminal breast cancer and died three days later.
On 26 February 2006 it was announced that Martin had undergone angioplasty
at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary
for blocked coronary arteries and would be absent from his duties for some weeks. He returned to the Chair on 18 April.
In an interview on the BBC
's Politics Show on 11 February 2007, he said that his proudest achievement as Speaker, in the traditions of his working-class origins, was to establish an apprenticeship scheme for local young people to become craftsmen (upholsters, restorers, electricians, etc.) who maintain the fabric of the Houses of Parliament.
and the Labour Party
). As Martin's immediate predecessor Betty Boothroyd
had been a Labour MP, it was argued that the new Speaker should have come from the Conservative benches. However, contrary to popular belief, there is no tradition of party alternation in the Speakership. In fact, from the Act of Union
in 1801 until 1992, every Speaker elected came from the benches of whichever party was in government at the time of transition (see List of Speakers of the British House of Commons) - a convention which had, by coincidence, led to alternation between Labour and Conservative Speakers being elected between 1965 (Horace King, the first Speaker elected from the Labour Party
) and 1983 (Bernard Weatherill
). It was actually Betty Boothroyd's election as Speaker in 1992 (while the Conservatives were in office) that broke this convention, and the election of Martin merely reverted to previous tradition by selecting the Speaker from the government benches.
Fourteen MPs put their names forward as potential successors to Betty Boothroyd as Speaker. Many observers had considered the Conservative MP Sir George Young
to be the favourite as he had support from both the Conservative and Labour leadership, who viewed it as the Conservatives' 'turn' to have a Speaker elected from their benches. However, many backbench MPs, particularly those from the Labour Party (who held a large majority in the House at the time), viewed Young as someone who had too recently been a member of his party's front bench team and who was, therefore, not sufficiently in touch with ordinary MPs. (Young had stepped down from the Shadow Cabinet just before the election for a new Speaker and had been a member of the Cabinet in the Conservative government during the previous parliament.) In the end, Young's candidacy was rejected by the House and Martin was elected as Speaker.
, Martin, in his role as Speaker, caused uproar in the House of Commons by striking down a question from David Cameron
, leader of the opposition
, in which he challenged Tony Blair
over the future leadership of the Labour Party
. Martin stated that the purpose of Prime Minister's Questions was for the House to question the Prime Minister on the actions of the government. This caused such dissent amongst MPs that Martin threatened to suspend the session. Cameron then re-worded the question so he asked about Tony Blair's future as Prime Minister rather than leader of the Labour Party, which Martin accepted. Conservative MPs threatened to walk out if a similar event occurred in the future. Some conservative politicians and commentators accused Martin of bias towards the Labour government. This was in stark contrast to the wide respect in which the previous Speaker, a former Labour heavyweight, had been held across the political spectrum.
was engaged for three months at a cost of more than £20,000. The use of public money was criticised by Liberal Democrat
MP Norman Baker
as a "very expensive" way to issue press releases; and by the Taxpayers' Alliance
. Martin was also criticised at the same time for trying to block the publication of details of MPs' £5m-a-year travel expenses under the Freedom of Information Act.
On 24 February 2008, John Lyon, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, was asked by the Taxpayers' Alliance to investigate whether Martin had abused parliamentary expenses and allowances. Lyon is obliged to examine all such complaints although the Commissioner could rule that the complaint is unfounded. This followed a week in which Martin's spokesman, the veteran Whitehall communications chief Mike Granatt, resigned after admitting that he had unwittingly misled the Mail on Sunday over more than £4,000 in taxi expenses incurred by the Speaker's wife, Mary Martin. Granatt blamed unnamed officials, but not the Speaker, for falsely informing him that the expenses were legitimate because Martin's wife had been accompanied by an official on shopping trips to buy food for receptions. It turned out that she had in fact been accompanied by her housekeeper, and that catering for such receptions is the responsibility of the parliamentary caterers.
On 29 March 2008, The Daily Telegraph
revealed that refurbishment of Michael Martin's official residence, Speaker's House, has cost the taxpayer £1.7m over seven years. The house is located inside the Palace of Westminster
.
In December 2008, during a week described by The Daily Telegraph as "another bad one for Parliament's reputation", Martin won the right to a taxpayer-funded, index-linked pension worth close to £1.4 million consisting of half his MP's salary and half his Speaker's salary, inflation-adjusted until his death.
On 19 April 2009, an editorial in The Observer
newspaper renewed calls for his retirement as Speaker, arguing "the Speaker and Mrs Martin have been plundering the public purse for an almost grotesque array of personal perks and foreign junkets".
On 14 May 2009, The Daily Telegraph
reported that Martin had claimed £1,400 for using chauffeur-driven cars that included visits to Celtic Park
, home of Celtic Football Club, and his local Job Centre.
, much anger was directed towards Speaker Michael Martin and the House of Commons authorities for allowing police into the Palace of Westminster to search Mr Green's Commons office without a search warrant
. Asked if Martin had approved the move, a spokeswoman issued a terse statement, saying simply that: "There is a process to be followed and that was followed."
However, the Home Office confirmed that the police would have required permission from House authorities to carry out a search on the Commons premises. Conservative backbencher Douglas Carswell
said that if it were confirmed that Martin had authorised the raid, which some say breached Parliamentary privilege, he would be demanding his resignation. "The purpose of the Commons Speaker is to preside over an institution that holds government to account – not to give the green light to police raids against legitimate opposition," he wrote on his blog.
put down a motion expressing no confidence
in Michael Martin as Speaker.
On 17 May 2009, Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg
said that Michael Martin should stand down, saying he had become an obstacle to much-needed reform of Parliament.
On 18 May 2009, Martin made a statement to the House of Commons, apologising for his part in the expenses issue, but recognising all members of the House were responsible. He also sought to resolve the wider issues by convening a meeting involving him, the leaders of all parties represented in the House and members of the House of Commons Commission
, so that the Leader of the House of Commons
could bring early proposals before the House, before any further recommendations from the Committee on Standards in Public Life
. However, in a succession of points of order
following the statement he refused to answer questions relating to his future as Speaker. He also said that, according to the rules of the House, even if the proposed motion of no confidence appeared in the House of Commons Order Paper, a debate on it could not take place unless the government made time for it, or the opposition devoted one of its days to the motion. Martin was attacked by a succession of MPs from all parties, several of whom called for his immediate resignation.
trips. In 2008 Conservative MP Mark Lancaster
flew business class to Bangkok
with the British Council for a two-day conference, at a cost of £5,018. Labour MP Sally Keeble
flew out economy class and returned business class at a cost of £2,452. 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. Martin signed a special certificate preventing the release of information about these trips, citing "Parliamentary privilege". This was condemned by MPs from all parties as well as civil liberty advocates.
tabled a motion of no confidence, which was signed by 22 MPs. Later that day, Martin announced he would resign from his position as Speaker of the House of Commons effective 21 June 2009. If the motion had been successful in a vote, Martin would have been the first Speaker to be forced out of office by a motion of no confidence since Sir John Trevor
in 1695.
He was made the Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead to be able to stand down as an MP on the same date,Members of Parliament are not at liberty to resign their seats
because they are given a trust to represent their constituencies; however, taking an "office of profit under the Crown" such as the stewardship of the Manor of Northstead disqualifies an individual from sitting in the House of Commons, and as such is often used by MPs to effectively resign their seats. forcing a by-election
in his constituency
of Glasgow North East
.
Speakers are normally elevated to the House of Lords
when they retire, and the Government has said it considered this a "formality". However, given that Martin was forced to resign following widespread criticism of his behaviour, many people felt a peerage would be inappropriate and that elevating him to the Lords would be a reward for failure. A vetting panel for the House of Lords pointed out to the Prime Minister that nominees had to "enhance rather than diminish" the standing of the house, which some Labour MPs interpreted as a slur against Martin. Sixteen MPs signed a Commons motion
requesting that the peer responsible, Lord Jay
, withdraw his comment. In accordance with tradition, as soon as Martin's successor as Speaker was installed, the first motion passed by the House of Commons was a resolution directing that a humble Address be presented to The Queen, asking Her to grant "some signal mark of [Her] Royal Favour" upon Martin. The "signal mark of Royal Favour", is, per tradition, the grant of a peerage.
, of Port Dundas
in the City of Glasgow
. He formally took his seat in the Lords on 13 October 2009. Like previous Speakers elevated to the Lords, he sits as a Crossbench peer.
|-
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
, who was the Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MP) for Glasgow Springburn
Glasgow Springburn (UK Parliament constituency)
Glasgow Springburn was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1918 until the 2005 general election, when it was largely replaced by the Glasgow North East constituency....
from 1979
United Kingdom general election, 1979
The United Kingdom general election of 1979 was held on 3 May 1979 to elect 635 members to the British House of Commons. The Conservative Party, led by Margaret Thatcher ousted the incumbent Labour government of James Callaghan with a parliamentary majority of 43 seats...
to 2005
United Kingdom general election, 2005
The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect 646 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a majority of 66, reduced from 160....
, and then for Glasgow North East
Glasgow North East (UK Parliament constituency)
Glasgow North East is a burgh constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom . It was first contested at the 2005 general election...
until 2009. He was a Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
MP until his election as the Speaker of the House of Commons in 2000, and was Speaker for nine years until his resignation in 2009.
On his election to the post of Speaker in 2000 he was the first Roman Catholic to serve in the role since the Reformation
English Reformation
The English Reformation was the series of events in 16th-century England by which the Church of England broke away from the authority of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church....
. He resigned from the position on 21 June 2009 as a result of diminishing parliamentary and public confidence owing to his role in the parliamentary expenses scandal. He also stood down from the House of Commons on the following day.
Early life
Martin was born in GlasgowGlasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
in 1945, the son of a merchant seaman and a school cleaner. He attended St Patrick's Boys' School in Anderston
Anderston
Anderston is a district in the Scottish city of Glasgow. It is on the north bank of the River Clyde and extends to the western edge of the city centre...
, leaving at the age of 15 to become an apprentice sheet-metal worker. He became involved in the National Union of Sheet Metal Workers and Coppersmiths and joined the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
when he was 21. He later worked in the Rolls-Royce
Rolls-Royce Limited
Rolls-Royce Limited was a renowned British car and, from 1914 on, aero-engine manufacturing company founded by Charles Stewart Rolls and Henry Royce on 15 March 1906 as the result of a partnership formed in 1904....
plant at Hillington
Hillington, Glasgow
Hillington is a residential suburb and an industrial estate on the southwestern edge of the Scottish city of Glasgow. Whilst the residential area is wholly within Glasgow, the greater part of the industrial estate falls under the jurisdiction of neighbouring Renfrew, although for business...
, and was an Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union
Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union
The Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union was a British trade union. It merged with the MSF to form Amicus in 2001.The history of the union can be traced back to the formation of the "Old Mechanics" of 1826, which grew into the Amalgamated Society of Engineers in 1851...
shop steward from 1970 to 1974.
In 1973, Martin was elected as a Labour councillor on Glasgow Corporation, a position he held until his election to the Parliament of the United Kingdom
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
. He also served as a trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
organiser with the National Union of Public Employees
National Union of Public Employees
The National Union of Public Employees was a British trade union which represented public sector workers. The union was founded in 1908 as the National Union of Corporation Workers, which split from the Municipal Employees Association, following Albin Taylor's dismissal as General Secretary...
(NUPE) between 1976 and 1979. He was elected as Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Glasgow Springburn
Glasgow Springburn (UK Parliament constituency)
Glasgow Springburn was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1918 until the 2005 general election, when it was largely replaced by the Glasgow North East constituency....
in the 1979 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1979
The United Kingdom general election of 1979 was held on 3 May 1979 to elect 635 members to the British House of Commons. The Conservative Party, led by Margaret Thatcher ousted the incumbent Labour government of James Callaghan with a parliamentary majority of 43 seats...
. Martin is associated with the right wing of the Labour Party, and a social conservative on matters such as abortion and homosexuality. In 1994, he was one of thirteen Labour MPs who voted against the reduction of the age of consent
Age of consent
While the phrase age of consent typically does not appear in legal statutes, when used in relation to sexual activity, the age of consent is the minimum age at which a person is considered to be legally competent to consent to sexual acts. The European Union calls it the legal age for sexual...
for homosexuals from 21 to 18. He was a supporter of Roy Hattersley
Roy Hattersley
Roy Sydney George Hattersley, Baron Hattersley is a British Labour politician, author and journalist from Sheffield. He served as Deputy Leader of the Labour Party from 1983 to 1992.-Early life:...
and Denis Healey
Denis Healey
Denis Winston Healey, Baron Healey CH, MBE, PC is a British Labour politician, who served as Secretary of State for Defence from 1964 to 1970 and Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1974 to 1979.-Early life:...
, with whom he served as a Parliamentary Private Secretary
Parliamentary Private Secretary
A Parliamentary Private Secretary is a role given to a United Kingdom Member of Parliament by a senior minister in government or shadow minister to act as their contact for the House of Commons; this role is junior to that of Parliamentary Under-Secretary, which is a ministerial post, salaried by...
from 1980 until 1983. He served as Chairman of the Scottish Grand Committee
Scottish Grand Committee
The Scottish Grand Committee is a committee of the House of Commons. It is not a select committee , but rather a grand committee composed of all 59 Scottish MPs ....
from 1987 to 1997.
Speakership
Martin sat on the Speaker's Panel of Chairmen before being appointed as First Deputy Chairman of Ways and MeansChairman of Ways and Means
In the United Kingdom, the Chairman of Ways and Means is a senior member of the House of Commons who acts as one of the Speaker's three deputies...
(one of three Deputy Speakers) in 1997. Martin was elected Speaker on 23 October 2000, succeeding Betty Boothroyd
Betty Boothroyd
Betty Boothroyd, Baroness Boothroyd, OM, PC is a British politician, who served as Member of Parliament for West Bromwich and West Bromwich West from 1973 to 2000, initially for the Labour Party and, from 1992 to 2000, as Speaker of the House of Commons...
to become the first Roman Catholic to serve in the role since the Reformation
English Reformation
The English Reformation was the series of events in 16th-century England by which the Church of England broke away from the authority of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church....
. In accordance with a long-standing convention, Martin resigned from the Labour Party. His Glaswegian accent
Glasgow patter
Glaswegian or The Glasgow Patter is a dialect spoken in and around Glasgow, Scotland. In addition to local West Mid Scots, the dialect has Highland English and Hiberno-English influences, owing to the speech of Highlanders and Irish people, who migrated in large numbers to the Glasgow area in the...
led to his being nicknamed "Gorbals
Gorbals
The Gorbals is an area on the south bank of the River Clyde in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. By the late 19th century, it had become over-populated and adversely affected by local industrialisation. Many people lived here because their jobs provided this home and they could not afford their own...
Mick" by Quentin Letts
Quentin Letts
Quentin Richard Stephen Letts is a British journalist and theatre critic, writing for The Daily Telegraph, Daily Mail, Mail on Sunday, The Oldie and New Statesman, and previously for The Times.- Early life :...
, after the working-class district of Glasgow, although he was actually born on the other side of the river from the Gorbals and represented a constituency a few miles away.
In the 2005 general election
United Kingdom general election, 2005
The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect 646 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a majority of 66, reduced from 160....
, he stood in the new constituency of Glasgow North East
Glasgow North East (UK Parliament constituency)
Glasgow North East is a burgh constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom . It was first contested at the 2005 general election...
, where three quarters of children living in the constituency are classed as being in poverty. The Scottish National Party
Scottish National Party
The Scottish National Party is a social-democratic political party in Scotland which campaigns for Scottish independence from the United Kingdom....
caused controversy by standing against him both times.
Shortly after the 2005 election, when Liberal Democrat MP Patsy Calton
Patsy Calton
Patsy Calton was a British politician, and was a Liberal Democrat politician, and Member of Parliament for the constituency of Cheadle in Greater Manchester....
entered the Commons for the last time to affirm her allegiance from a wheelchair and sign register, Martin broke with tradition and left the Speaker's Chair to shake her hand and kiss her on the cheek, saying "welcome home Patsy." Calton, who had just been re-elected, had terminal breast cancer and died three days later.
On 26 February 2006 it was announced that Martin had undergone angioplasty
Angioplasty
Angioplasty is the technique of mechanically widening a narrowed or obstructed blood vessel, the latter typically being a result of atherosclerosis. An empty and collapsed balloon on a guide wire, known as a balloon catheter, is passed into the narrowed locations and then inflated to a fixed size...
at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary
Glasgow Royal Infirmary
The Glasgow Royal Infirmary is a large teaching hospital, operated by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde,. With a capacity of around 1000 beds, the hospital campus covers an area of around 20 acres, situated on the north-eastern edge of the city centre of Glasgow, Scotland.-History:Designed by Robert...
for blocked coronary arteries and would be absent from his duties for some weeks. He returned to the Chair on 18 April.
In an interview on the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's Politics Show on 11 February 2007, he said that his proudest achievement as Speaker, in the traditions of his working-class origins, was to establish an apprenticeship scheme for local young people to become craftsmen (upholsters, restorers, electricians, etc.) who maintain the fabric of the Houses of Parliament.
Appointment
Martin's initial appointment as Speaker caused controversy as his election broke a recent pattern in the House that the post of Speaker alternated between the two main political parties (the Conservative PartyConservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
and the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
). As Martin's immediate predecessor Betty Boothroyd
Betty Boothroyd
Betty Boothroyd, Baroness Boothroyd, OM, PC is a British politician, who served as Member of Parliament for West Bromwich and West Bromwich West from 1973 to 2000, initially for the Labour Party and, from 1992 to 2000, as Speaker of the House of Commons...
had been a Labour MP, it was argued that the new Speaker should have come from the Conservative benches. However, contrary to popular belief, there is no tradition of party alternation in the Speakership. In fact, from the Act of Union
Act of Union 1800
The Acts of Union 1800 describe two complementary Acts, namely:* the Union with Ireland Act 1800 , an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain, and...
in 1801 until 1992, every Speaker elected came from the benches of whichever party was in government at the time of transition (see List of Speakers of the British House of Commons) - a convention which had, by coincidence, led to alternation between Labour and Conservative Speakers being elected between 1965 (Horace King, the first Speaker elected from the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
) and 1983 (Bernard Weatherill
Bernard Weatherill
Bruce Bernard Weatherill, Baron Weatherill, PC, DL, KStJ was a British Conservative Party politician who became Speaker of the House of Commons.-Tailor:...
). It was actually Betty Boothroyd's election as Speaker in 1992 (while the Conservatives were in office) that broke this convention, and the election of Martin merely reverted to previous tradition by selecting the Speaker from the government benches.
Fourteen MPs put their names forward as potential successors to Betty Boothroyd as Speaker. Many observers had considered the Conservative MP Sir George Young
Sir George Young, 6th Baronet
Sir George Samuel Knatchbull Young, 6th Baronet is a British politician. He is currently the Leader of the House of Commons and Lord Privy Seal, and has served as a Conservative Party Member of Parliament since 1974, having represented North West Hampshire since 1997, and Ealing Acton before...
to be the favourite as he had support from both the Conservative and Labour leadership, who viewed it as the Conservatives' 'turn' to have a Speaker elected from their benches. However, many backbench MPs, particularly those from the Labour Party (who held a large majority in the House at the time), viewed Young as someone who had too recently been a member of his party's front bench team and who was, therefore, not sufficiently in touch with ordinary MPs. (Young had stepped down from the Shadow Cabinet just before the election for a new Speaker and had been a member of the Cabinet in the Conservative government during the previous parliament.) In the end, Young's candidacy was rejected by the House and Martin was elected as Speaker.
Accusations of bias
On 1 November 2006, during Prime Minister's QuestionsPrime Minister's Questions
Prime minister's questions is a constitutional convention in the United Kingdom that takes place every Wednesday during which the prime minister spends half an hour answering questions from members of parliament...
, Martin, in his role as Speaker, caused uproar in the House of Commons by striking down a question from David Cameron
David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party. Cameron represents Witney as its Member of Parliament ....
, leader of the opposition
Official Opposition (UK)
Her Majesty's Most Loyal Opposition, or the Official Opposition, in the United Kingdom is led by the Leader of the Opposition. This is usually the political party with the second-largest number of seats in the House of Commons, as the largest party will usually form Her Majesty's Government...
, in which he challenged Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
over the future leadership of the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
. Martin stated that the purpose of Prime Minister's Questions was for the House to question the Prime Minister on the actions of the government. This caused such dissent amongst MPs that Martin threatened to suspend the session. Cameron then re-worded the question so he asked about Tony Blair's future as Prime Minister rather than leader of the Labour Party, which Martin accepted. Conservative MPs threatened to walk out if a similar event occurred in the future. Some conservative politicians and commentators accused Martin of bias towards the Labour government. This was in stark contrast to the wide respect in which the previous Speaker, a former Labour heavyweight, had been held across the political spectrum.
Personal expenses
In 2007 Martin used public money to employ lawyers in challenging negative press stories; media law firm Carter-RuckCarter-Ruck
Carter-Ruck is a British law firm founded by Peter Carter-Ruck.According to their website they specialise in libel, privacy, international law and commercial litigation....
was engaged for three months at a cost of more than £20,000. The use of public money was criticised by Liberal Democrat
Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
MP Norman Baker
Norman Baker
Norman John Baker is a British Liberal Democrat politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Lewes in East Sussex since 1997. Since May 2010 he has been Parliamentary Under Secretary for the Department for Transport....
as a "very expensive" way to issue press releases; and by the Taxpayers' Alliance
TaxPayers' Alliance
The TaxPayers' Alliance is a British pressure group and taxpayers union formed in 2004 to campaign for a low tax society. The group had about 18,000 registered supporters as of 2008, and claimed to have 55,000 by September 2010....
. Martin was also criticised at the same time for trying to block the publication of details of MPs' £5m-a-year travel expenses under the Freedom of Information Act.
On 24 February 2008, John Lyon, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, was asked by the Taxpayers' Alliance to investigate whether Martin had abused parliamentary expenses and allowances. Lyon is obliged to examine all such complaints although the Commissioner could rule that the complaint is unfounded. This followed a week in which Martin's spokesman, the veteran Whitehall communications chief Mike Granatt, resigned after admitting that he had unwittingly misled the Mail on Sunday over more than £4,000 in taxi expenses incurred by the Speaker's wife, Mary Martin. Granatt blamed unnamed officials, but not the Speaker, for falsely informing him that the expenses were legitimate because Martin's wife had been accompanied by an official on shopping trips to buy food for receptions. It turned out that she had in fact been accompanied by her housekeeper, and that catering for such receptions is the responsibility of the parliamentary caterers.
On 29 March 2008, The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
revealed that refurbishment of Michael Martin's official residence, Speaker's House, has cost the taxpayer £1.7m over seven years. The house is located inside the Palace of Westminster
Palace of Westminster
The Palace of Westminster, also known as the Houses of Parliament or Westminster Palace, is the meeting place of the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom—the House of Lords and the House of Commons...
.
In December 2008, during a week described by The Daily Telegraph as "another bad one for Parliament's reputation", Martin won the right to a taxpayer-funded, index-linked pension worth close to £1.4 million consisting of half his MP's salary and half his Speaker's salary, inflation-adjusted until his death.
On 19 April 2009, an editorial in The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
newspaper renewed calls for his retirement as Speaker, arguing "the Speaker and Mrs Martin have been plundering the public purse for an almost grotesque array of personal perks and foreign junkets".
On 14 May 2009, The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
reported that Martin had claimed £1,400 for using chauffeur-driven cars that included visits to Celtic Park
Celtic Park
Celtic Park is a football stadium in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which is the home ground of Celtic FC. Celtic Park, an all-seater stadium with a capacity of 60,832, is the largest football stadium in Scotland and the sixth-largest stadium in the United Kingdom, after Murrayfield, Old Trafford,...
, home of Celtic Football Club, and his local Job Centre.
Arrest of Damian Green
Following the highly controversial arrest of Conservative immigration spokesman Damian GreenDamian Green
Damian Howard Green is a British politician who has been the Conservative Member of Parliament for Ashford since 1997. He came to national prominence after being elected in his constituency. Before standing for parliament, Damian Green was Channel 4's business editor...
, much anger was directed towards Speaker Michael Martin and the House of Commons authorities for allowing police into the Palace of Westminster to search Mr Green's Commons office without a search warrant
Search warrant
A search warrant is a court order issued by a Magistrate, judge or Supreme Court Official that authorizes law enforcement officers to conduct a search of a person or location for evidence of a crime and to confiscate evidence if it is found....
. Asked if Martin had approved the move, a spokeswoman issued a terse statement, saying simply that: "There is a process to be followed and that was followed."
However, the Home Office confirmed that the police would have required permission from House authorities to carry out a search on the Commons premises. Conservative backbencher Douglas Carswell
Douglas Carswell
John Douglas Wilson Carswell is a British Conservative Party politician. He is the Member of Parliament for Clacton, having been first elected as MP for Harwich in 2005....
said that if it were confirmed that Martin had authorised the raid, which some say breached Parliamentary privilege, he would be demanding his resignation. "The purpose of the Commons Speaker is to preside over an institution that holds government to account – not to give the green light to police raids against legitimate opposition," he wrote on his blog.
Handling of MPs' expenses issue
On 12 May 2009 it was reported that Michael Martin was under pressure to resign. Conservative MP Douglas CarswellDouglas Carswell
John Douglas Wilson Carswell is a British Conservative Party politician. He is the Member of Parliament for Clacton, having been first elected as MP for Harwich in 2005....
put down a motion expressing no confidence
Motion of no confidence votes in the United Kingdom
Motions of no confidence, also called votes of confidence, votes of no-confidence or censure motions, are a feature of the Westminster system of government used in the United Kingdom that requires an executive to retain the confidence of the House of Commons...
in Michael Martin as Speaker.
On 17 May 2009, Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg
Nick Clegg
Nicholas William Peter "Nick" Clegg is a British Liberal Democrat politician who is currently the Deputy Prime Minister, Lord President of the Council and Minister for Constitutional and Political Reform in the coalition government of which David Cameron is the Prime Minister...
said that Michael Martin should stand down, saying he had become an obstacle to much-needed reform of Parliament.
On 18 May 2009, Martin made a statement to the House of Commons, apologising for his part in the expenses issue, but recognising all members of the House were responsible. He also sought to resolve the wider issues by convening a meeting involving him, the leaders of all parties represented in the House and members of the House of Commons Commission
House of Commons Commission
The House of Commons Commission is the overall supervisory body of the House of Commons Administration in the United Kingdom. The Commission is a corporate body established by the House of Commons Act 1978...
, so that the Leader of the House of Commons
Leader of the House of Commons
The Leader of the House of Commons is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom who is responsible for arranging government business in the House of Commons...
could bring early proposals before the House, before any further recommendations from the Committee on Standards in Public Life
Committee on Standards in Public Life
The Committee on Standards in Public Life is an advisory non-departmental public body of the United Kingdom Government.The Committee on Standards in Public Life is constituted as a standing body with its members appointed for up to three years.-History:...
. However, in a succession of points of order
Point of order
A point of order is a matter raised during consideration of a motion concerning the rules of parliamentary procedure.-Explanation and uses:A point of order may be raised if the rules appear to have been broken. This may interrupt a speaker during debate, or anything else if the breach of the rules...
following the statement he refused to answer questions relating to his future as Speaker. He also said that, according to the rules of the House, even if the proposed motion of no confidence appeared in the House of Commons Order Paper, a debate on it could not take place unless the government made time for it, or the opposition devoted one of its days to the motion. Martin was attacked by a succession of MPs from all parties, several of whom called for his immediate resignation.
Declaration of British Council expenses
In 2009 Michael Martin was involved in a row over expenses incurred by MPs on taxpayer-funded British CouncilBritish Council
The British Council is a United Kingdom-based organisation specialising in international educational and cultural opportunities. It is registered as a charity both in England and Wales, and in Scotland...
trips. In 2008 Conservative MP Mark Lancaster
Mark Lancaster
John Mark Lancaster TD is a British Conservative Party politician. He was elected as Member of Parliament for the North East Milton Keynes constituency at the 2005 general election and held its successor seat, Milton Keynes North, at the 2010 general election...
flew business class to Bangkok
Bangkok
Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...
with the British Council for a two-day conference, at a cost of £5,018. Labour MP Sally Keeble
Sally Keeble
Sally Curtis Keeble is a British Labour Party politician, was the Member of Parliament for Northampton North from 1997 to 2010...
flew out economy class and returned business class at a cost of £2,452. 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. Martin signed a special certificate preventing the release of information about these trips, citing "Parliamentary privilege". This was condemned by MPs from all parties as well as civil liberty advocates.
Resignation
On 19 May 2009, Douglas CarswellDouglas Carswell
John Douglas Wilson Carswell is a British Conservative Party politician. He is the Member of Parliament for Clacton, having been first elected as MP for Harwich in 2005....
tabled a motion of no confidence, which was signed by 22 MPs. Later that day, Martin announced he would resign from his position as Speaker of the House of Commons effective 21 June 2009. If the motion had been successful in a vote, Martin would have been the first Speaker to be forced out of office by a motion of no confidence since Sir John Trevor
John Trevor (speaker)
Sir John Trevor was a Welsh lawyer and politician. He was Speaker of the English House of Commons from 1685 to 1687 and from 1689 to 1695. Trevor also served as Master of the Rolls from 1685 to 1689 and from 1693 to 1717...
in 1695.
He was made the Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead to be able to stand down as an MP on the same date,Members of Parliament are not at liberty to resign their seats
Resignation from the British House of Commons
Members of Parliament sitting in the House of Commons in the United Kingdom are technically forbidden to resign. To circumvent this prohibition, a legal fiction is used...
because they are given a trust to represent their constituencies; however, taking an "office of profit under the Crown" such as the stewardship of the Manor of Northstead disqualifies an individual from sitting in the House of Commons, and as such is often used by MPs to effectively resign their seats. forcing a by-election
Glasgow North East by-election, 2009
The 2009 Glasgow North East by-election was a by-election for the Parliament of the United Kingdom's House of Commons constituency of Glasgow North East. The by-election was held on 12 November 2009 following the resignation of Michael Martin as an MP and as Speaker of the British House of Commons...
in his constituency
United Kingdom constituencies
In the United Kingdom , each of the electoral areas or divisions called constituencies elects one or more members to a parliament or assembly.Within the United Kingdom there are now five bodies with members elected by constituencies:...
of Glasgow North East
Glasgow North East (UK Parliament constituency)
Glasgow North East is a burgh constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom . It was first contested at the 2005 general election...
.
Speakers are normally elevated to the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
when they retire, and the Government has said it considered this a "formality". However, given that Martin was forced to resign following widespread criticism of his behaviour, many people felt a peerage would be inappropriate and that elevating him to the Lords would be a reward for failure. A vetting panel for the House of Lords pointed out to the Prime Minister that nominees had to "enhance rather than diminish" the standing of the house, which some Labour MPs interpreted as a slur against Martin. Sixteen MPs signed a Commons motion
Motion (parliamentary procedure)
In parliamentary procedure, a motion is a formal proposal by a member of a deliberative assembly that the assembly take certain action. In a parliament, this is also called a parliamentary motion and includes legislative motions, budgetary motions, supplementary budgetary motions, and petitionary...
requesting that the peer responsible, Lord Jay
Michael Jay, Baron Jay of Ewelme
Michael Hastings Jay, Baron Jay of Ewelme, GCMG is a former British diplomat and is currently Chairman of the House of Lords Appointments Commission.-Education:...
, withdraw his comment. In accordance with tradition, as soon as Martin's successor as Speaker was installed, the first motion passed by the House of Commons was a resolution directing that a humble Address be presented to The Queen, asking Her to grant "some signal mark of [Her] Royal Favour" upon Martin. The "signal mark of Royal Favour", is, per tradition, the grant of a peerage.
Life peerage
Michael Martin was made a life peer on 25 August 2009, by the name, style and title of Baron Martin of SpringburnSpringburn
Springburn is an inner city district in the north of the Scottish city of Glasgow, home to various working and middle-class households.Springburn developed from a small rural hamlet at the beginning of the nineteenth century. Its industrial expansion began with the establishment of a chemical...
, of Port Dundas
Port Dundas
Port Dundas is an area of Glasgow, Scotland, located to the north of the city centre. It lies to the north of Cowcaddens, and to the west of Sighthill, with Hamiltonhill and Possilpark to the north-west.-History:...
in the City of Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
. He formally took his seat in the Lords on 13 October 2009. Like previous Speakers elevated to the Lords, he sits as a Crossbench peer.
See also
- Speaker of the UK House of Commons election, 2009
- Ceann Comhairle (Ireland) expenses controversy
External links
- Guardian Unlimited Politics - Ask Aristotle: Michael Martin MP
- TheyWorkForYou.com - Michael Martin MP
- Biography and profile in the Sunday Times 27 July 2008
- Conservative MPs accuse Speaker of bias and threaten to walk out
- Pressure mounts on Speaker amid complaints over his expenses
|-