Op-Ed: In this final part of our look back at the role of speaker of the House of Commons in the 21st Century we ask John Bercow, what went wrong? There was a time when Bercow managed to provide some fun and humour into House of Common's debate while keeping good order and basically doing his job. Those days are gone. Some will say they noticed a remarkable downward trend following Jeremy Corbyn becoming the elected Labour party leader, the party that is the official opposition party in the House of Commons. From day one when Corbyn got to his feet, announced by the speaker as Mr Jeremy Corbyn, you could hear that hint of distaste in his voice. And sadly most people who tune into debates which involve Mr Corbyn will have noticed bullyboy tactics from the Tory benches and the speaker in an apparent daze of deafness. After PMQS Wednesday February 24 reached a new low many people were moved to write in to the speaker's office and complain. They received a pretty bog-standard reply from a member of the speaker's secretarial and admin team that was viewed as a brush-off. The personal attack on Mr Corbyn by Cameron who, in response to a Labour backbench jibe, said "Ask my mother? I think I know what my mother would say."I think she would look across the despatch box and she would say 'Put on a proper suit, do up your tie and sing the national anthem'" may have appealed to Tory backbenchers but looked silly, petulant and childish to the rest of us. Social media responded angrily but Mr Corbyn with a wry smile joked to Sky News Thursday about doing his tie up for the Prime Minister. But as Mr Corbyn is almost 30-years older than Mr Cameron it was contemptible Tory whippersnappers may have loved Cameron's bite back but in the end he was left with egg on his face. But where was Mr Bercow in all of this? Hardly doing his job? According to Parliament UK "The salary of the Speaker is £150,236 (this figure comprises of MP's salary of £74,000 and the additional salary for the Speaker of £76,236)." It is about time he earned that money. In late March as parliament was set to break ahead of the May General election a Tory plot to oust Bercow was launched by William Hague. It ended up as a filibuster that prevented the House debating a "Mayfair Tax loophole." Labour ministers technically ran to the aid of Bercow but was he part of the plot we wonder? If not did that plot leave him fearing his place in the Commons was under attack? Whatever the reason Bercow is helping Cameron's Bullingdon Boys turn the Commons into comedy theatre. Perhaps he likes his cosy position and will do anything to prevent real political change? This is a four part mini series; House of Commons speaker, part one When John Bercow did his job, part two Expenses scandal hits the speaker, part three
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Op-Ed: Michael Martin, the role of speaker and British politics when it became embroiled in scandals in 2008 / 2009. Background The credibility of British Parliament and its ministers took a battering when the expenses scandal broke. Members of Parliament elected by the people in order to form a government and fill the Commons had been up to no good. It may be debatable just how honest and trustworthy politicians are at the best of times, but in 2008/2009 they seemed to have excelled themselves in greed and stupidity. Revelations made public in the Daily Telegraph and then splashed all over the press, and around the world, made the UK, its leaders and its people look a mixture of the greedy and the stupid. Working within what politicians viewed as the law and the rules some busily helped themselves to vast amounts of money out of the public coffers. The politicians involved saw all of this as acceptable because it was within the rules, sort of. Of course, some individuals only claimed a little more than is reasonable but the total amount of cash involved was disastrous, especially in PR terms, and reduced confidence in the political system to a new low; most of the electorate had experienced a drop in disposable income and were understandably angry. Those that were involved in this scandal basically fiddled their expense claims. Politicians may have believed they acted within what the law allowed but most people could see they had done wrong. At that time rules that applied to parliamentary expenses which were available so that MP's could claim for second homes when necessary were used and abused. This entitlement exists solely for the purpose of assisting Members of Parliament who may have a constituency at one end of the country, miles away from London. This allowance offers assistance towards the upkeep of one of these homes, namely the one that was purchased or rented as a second home As a second home, and in all intents and purposes a crash pad, the accommodation should only be basic but as we learned some MP's were living the high life and not just crashing down. How long had this been going on? It is hard to guess how long such expenses claims were claimed and paid out. It is also hard pinpointing who was dishonest and who was honest but it is difficult to believe that such fiddling of expenses is a recent occurrence. Conservative members of parliament often have good incomes apart from their salaries for being an MP. In some ways such politicians would not really have a need to over claim their expenses. You could say that some of the more ordinary politicians probably have less overall income. WELL TOUGH. That is often the way the cookie crumbles. It is just the same with an ordinary 9 - 5 job. Some colleagues may be worse off than others as they have lots of children and a partner who does not or cannot work. In the same way some colleagues could have a partner who has his or her own business and plenty wealth. If investigators were to look into politician’s expense claims in the UK over the last 50 years I wonder what skeletons they would discover. My gut instinct is that this twisting of a legal loophole, which enabled politicians in the UK to work the system, has probably gone on for a long time. In fact for far too long. Where do they go from here? The position of the Speaker of the House of Commons, Michael Martin, became untenable and he was forced to resign over this scandal. The Speaker is a privileged position and wields much power. Michael Martin, the Speaker, became the first Speaker to resign in 300 years and so made history, albeit in a rather notorious way. Previous Speaker scandals include:- Sir John Trevor who was kicked out of office in 1695 after the House of Commons found him guilty of "a high crime and misdemeanour" for accepting a bribe. The City of London asked Sir John if he could put through a bill on their behalf, and he agreed to do it for 1,000 guineas. This was discovered and efforts were launched to remove him from the speaker-ship for bribery. Prior 1560, seven speakers were beheaded and one was murdered. On 1642, Speaker William Lenthall famously put the interests of the Commons to the fore. This was when Charles I entered the House to arrest five members for high treason. When he asked the speaker if he knew where these members were, the speaker famously replied: "May it please your majesty, I have neither eyes to see, nor tongue to speak in this place, but as the House is pleased to direct me." Whenever a new speaker is chosen, he makes a show of reluctance to accept the job and has to be dragged to the chair by his supporters. This is because of the dire fate that has befallen some speakers down the centuries. A small sample of the claims in question; The Telegraph stated:- Meanwhile, in the latest disclosure over MPs' expenses, the Daily Telegraph reported the Labour MP John Austin claimed more than £10,000 for the redecoration of his London flat – which was just 11 miles from his main home – before selling for a profit. The newspaper reported on its website that the left-wing MP for Erith and Thamesmead had made £30,000 when he sold the flat in Southwark, south London, in 2006. It said that he then bought a new flat just 1.5 miles away, claiming £10,000 in stamp duty and other expenses incurred in the move and a further £15,000 on a new bathroom, kitchen, carpets, and appliances. But the timing of the revelations indicated it was more of a political exercise than wanting to stop the rot. Many in the country were disillusioned with New Labour and PM Gordon Brown. David Cameron, leader of the Tory Party spotted a change in the wind and opportunities were seized. For those wanting to see an end to Gordon Brown's Labour Party the expenses scandal was manna from heaven. The buck stopped with Gordon and the scandal helped elect a Tory Lib Dem coalition government in 2010. Times were tough and money tight as the UK struggled to move on from the global economic crisis of 2008 and the scandal rolled on. Tory MP Julie Kirkbride faced with allegations of fiddling bottled it and instead of attending an open meeting at her constituency informed the press that she would stand down at the next election. Mrs Kirkbride said she had acted within the rules highlighting the problem when we have some greedy politicians with few scruples. With ambiguous rules there is always the opportunity for chancers to play the system and give Parliament a bad name. And though publications like the Telegraph tried to concentrate on Labour party fiddles there were plenty of Tories caught up in the scandal. Ahead of the election more Labour resignations helped seal the political fate of Gordon Brown. Labour MP Hazel Blears timed her resignation to do maximum damage to Brown and it did with a well timed act of revenge as payback for the public slating she took from Gordon Brown, regarding her suspect expense claims. Yet back in government first in coalition and now with a majority of 12 the Conservative party have been able to survive more expense scandals with at least one of the accused, Maria Miller, still sitting in the Commons. Remembering Maria Miller expense scandal This is a four-part mini series; House of Commons speaker, part one When John Bercow did his job, part two John Bercow House of Commons speaker, part four Op-Ed: Originally written in May 2012 it seems little has changed in the House of Commons for the better when you consider the role of Speaker. That office has associated support including deputy speakers but is supposed to offer an unbiased role that is cross-party. In 2012 we wrote; ""Slapped wrists" for PM Cameron UK Parliamentary business at times is reminiscent of kindergarten; tit for tat remarks, honourable members flouncing out, tipsy politicians having enjoyed the benefits of the Commons bar then acting in a thuggish manner and more. It can be entertaining to watch but often it is embarrassing. Once it was decided that cameras would be placed in the Commons it was generally though standards would improve. If they have then heaven only knows what they were like before. Keeping order over the honourable ministers is the Speaker of the House of Commons, who school playground and that kiddies rhyme "sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me" In reality words can be very hurtful. They can also show a lack of respect and damage any working relationship. Of course at times all politicians take a little poetic licence. They do have to carefully make sure however that they don't overstep the mark. When Cameron called Labour Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls an "idiot" it was deemed a step too far. It has been noticeable that when the PM is under pressure or perhaps looks in danger of losing a political argument he becomes irritated. He then name calls, chides, talks down to and snaps. These may be common traits but they are not part of Political Standards in the UK. The PM said idiot, referring to Ed balls and he has since had to apologise. Cameron was giving the Government a virtual pat on the back as he said they had in enterprise zones found, "innovative ways of using our hard-won credibility, which we wouldn't have if we had listened to the muttering idiot opposite me". This is not first attack on Ed Balls; as an old Etonian Cameron should know that this is just "not cricket". Labour responded calling the PM Flashman as an attack on his privileged background. Asked to withdraw the word "idiot" a smiling or should that be smarmy Cameron responded by saying. "I will replace it with 'the man who left us this enormous deficit and this financial crisis'." That old chestnut. Labour had to pick the pieces up after years of mismanagement by the Tories especially those years under Maggie Thatcher and so it seems that each government blames its predecessors. Perhaps in truth none of them are up to the job? In a day for apologies Cameron said sorry to veteran Labour minister Dennis Skinner for past treatment. He could not prevent his sarcasm though saying," he actually believed Mr Skinner was a "tremendous ornament" to Parliament." Well Dodgy Dave you know what they say about sarcasm? It is the lowest form of wit and so presumably is not statesman like? Tweets, condemnations and more have accompanied today's shenanigans but in reality all the British people want is these overpaid louts in Parliament do what they are paid to do. To act as responsible adults, to debate, decide and legislate and quit the theatrics. Vaudeville died many years ago but either that or the great British Farce appears alive and well preforming daily in the Houses of Parliament with a special performance each Wednesday, called PMQs. This is a brief four part report; House of Commons speaker, part one Expenses scandal hits the speaker, part three John Bercow House of Commons speaker, part four Op-ed: If you ever watch events from the British parliament on its designated live BBC TV channel you probably experience a range of emotions including disappointment, anger and despair with the odd giggle thrown in. But it shouldn't be like that should it? The House of Lords was the first of the two houses to get televised with MPs in the Commons resisting until the bitter end. After a series of essentially time wasting debates and votes on the matter finally in 1989 cameras were rolling in the Commons. This followed 22 debates in 11 years about whether or not to let the cameras in. It was still at the experimental stage, with restrictions on close-ups etc., but was finalised in 1990 after it was shown that televising the Commons had increased news coverage. Twenty-six years later the British public and world citizens who opt to tune in watch something somewhere between a Whitehall farce and a drunken vaudeville show and yes there have been accusations that some Ministers enjoy a bit too much hospitality in the parliamentary bars. When you watch PMQs on a Wednesday live from the Commons it is easy to see why some did their best to prevent TV camera crews filming and screening Commons daily events live. But there was a time when at least a pretence of mutual respect prevented the commons turning into a kindergarten for adults or is that looking back through rose-coloured glasses? The last three speakers The last three elections of a new House of Commons Speaker (1992, 2000 and 2009) have all been relatively controversial according to Wikipedia. "Bernard Weatherill had announced his impending retirement a long time before the 1992 general election, leading to a long but suppressed campaign for support. Betty Boothroyd, a Labour MP who had been Deputy Speaker, was known to be extremely interested in becoming the first woman Speaker (and in doing so, finished the chances of fellow Labour MP Harold Walker who had also been Deputy Speaker). The Conservative former Cabinet member Peter Brooke was put forward at a late stage as a candidate. Unlike previous elections, there was an active campaign among Conservative MPs to support Boothroyd and about 70 of them did so, ensuring her election. She was the only speaker elected in the 20th century not to be a member of the governing party at the time of her first election." Boothroyd kept the theatrics in order but at times played to the House. She "announced her retirement shortly before the summer recess in 2000, which left a long time for would-be Speakers to declare their candidature but little opportunity for Members of Parliament to negotiate and decide on who should be chosen." Although some Conservatives felt strongly that the recent alternation between the main parties should be maintained and a Conservative Speaker chosen a lengthy sitting of the House saw Michael Martin, Labour, voted in. Perhaps the 'tory boys' responded well to discipline by Betty Boothroyd as it took them back to their nannies and public school days but since the demise of Martin something rotten has developed in the role of Speaker of the House of Commons? In October 2015 Boothroyd told the right-wing Daily Mail "'My old party is galloping towards the precipice' as she slams the Corbyn faction taking over her beloved Labour...and says Ed Miliband is to blame" perhaps explaining why the Tories loved her so. When John Bercow did his job, part two Expenses scandal hits the speaker, part three John Bercow House of Commons speaker, part four |
British political scene
The next General Election in the UK may not be scheduled any time soon but the British political landscape is changing. With that in mind this blog will concentrate on the political scene but with a left wing perspective. Opinion pieces and news will bring you the stories that the MSM prefer to ignore. Archives
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