ALL OF Scotland should be proud of Michael Martin. He is only the second Scot in the modern era to become Speaker of the House of Commons. When he was elected in October 2000 he also became the first Catholic to hold the post.
And, as the son of a merchant seaman and a school cleaner, he is also the Speaker who has risen from the most humble roots to take his place in a long line dominated by Viscounts – though claims could be made for his Labour predecessors, Horace King,
George Thomas and Betty Boothroyd. When a heart condition was diagnosed in 2006, Martin was treated at a Glasgow NHS hospital and battled back to health to return to his work. All of Scotland should be proud of Michael Martin. It's just getting increasingly difficult to be.
When he first became Speaker, much of the criticism levelled at Martin could be attributed to partisan politics and the outright snobbishness of certain commentators. Many Tories, in particular, were outraged that they did not get their "turn" when the popular Boothroyd, the first female Speaker, stood down. They disliked Martin's decision to abandon the traditional wigs of office, and then they detected slights at every turn if Martin did not choose the 'right' people to speak in debates or made decisions which favoured the Labour Government. Meanwhile, the Quentins of this world sneered that they couldn't understand a word uttered by the man they christened "Gorbals Mick" – a nickname which predictably failed to take account of the fact that Martin is a son of Springburn.
In these circumstances, it was easy to see why Martin's old colleagues on the Labour benches rallied behind him, even if some quietly agreed that his decisions were not always entirely sound. That many such supporters are now abandoning him has little to do with his behaviour in the Speaker's chair, however. Instead, the growing doubts over his ability to remain in the role are the result of his actions with regard to the archaic Commons allowances system.
At a personal level, Martin has allowed himself to be portrayed as the bearer of one of the keenest snouts in the trough. Last week's revelation that he let his family fly at cut-price rates by using air miles he had accumulated on Commons business was just one of many. Yesterday it was revealed that an "official" who accompanied his wife on a taxi journey paid for with taxpayers' money was his housekeeper – making an expenses claim illegitimate and forcing the resignation of his spokesman. Previously, Martin has refused to say how much he paid his wife and his daughter to work for him. Earlier this month, this newspaper revealed how his annual allowance claims had nearly doubled to £17,166 for his Glasgow home – officially his second home after his grace-and-favour apartments at Westminster. Meanwhile, Martin spent £21,516 of public money to employ libel lawyers because he was sick of negative press coverage.
All of which would stink less were it not for the fact that Martin has gone to great lengths to stand in the way of those modernisers who would make the entire Commons expenses set-up more accountable and less open to corruption. Most recently, the Commons Commission which he chairs has appealed a test case ruling which ordered them to publish details of MPs' claims under the "additional costs allowance". The Information Commission is expected to decide next month if the appeal should be dismissed. If so, Martin could be reluctantly forced to address other anomalies, such as the fact that MPs can claim for items worth up to £250 without producing a receipt.
By all accounts, Martin is a decent man and he was a well-liked shop steward and councillor before becoming a popular MP for his native Glasgow Springburn constituency in 1979. But this just makes it all the more astonishing that he appears to have gone native at Westminster. Rather than forcing through reform in the name of open democracy, he seems happy to drag his feet to keep MPs' murky finances away from the scrutiny of the people who pay the bills.
Frankly, Martin should know that the days of just telling the plebs what they need to know are over. He should also realise that if he doesn't do something about it then he is part of the problem, not part of the solution. In which case, he should go – and the sooner the better.
