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Chris Huhne and Norman Lamb lead LibDem calls for Speaker to quit

May 15th, 2009 Posted in UK Politics by

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Chris Huhne (on Newnsight) and Norman Lamb have now both come out calling for the Speaker to go – with Norman making it plain that he will back Douglas Carswell’s motion.

Michael Martin’s days are surely numbered.

It’s important for the LibDems to steal a march on the Tories here, and for Nick Clegg to endorse and reinforce  the calls of his two frontbench spokesmen.

Another Julian H augmentation: Betty Boothroyd is, allegedly, “just appalled at the way Martin has behaved”. This comes via the Daily Mail via Bernard Salmon’s Sound of Gunfire blog. Which reminds me that Bernard is an enlightened Wenger sympathiser, and I will therefore add him to our links. Done.

9 Responses to “Chris Huhne and Norman Lamb lead LibDem calls for Speaker to quit”

  1. Ziggy Encaoua Says:

    Oh & how is this going to bring greater liberty? All this is an irrelevant party political pissing contest.


  2. Simon Says:

    Chris Huhne eh? Arch enemy of free speech and EU referendums and trouser press fiddler extroadinaire. I saw him on Channel 4 news last night and he is a disgrace to his so called profession. He’s even worse than some of the Labour fiddlers due to his masquerading as a Liberal whilst wanting to ban free speech.

    He does not have the moral authority to call for the sacking of the Speaker. He should be kicked out and banned (something they love doing to us) from holding public office for life.


  3. Ziggy Encaoua Says:

    Has Chris Huhne claimed for a tanning bed he always seems to have that Bob Monkhouse glow to him


  4. Alix Says:

    Hm, yes and no. Huhne has acted as the attack dog before. (Baker has also said the speaker should go now, by the way). I’m not sure it’s critical for Clegg to associate himself with it. I’d be far more impressed if he just annnounced immediate publication of all LD MPs expenses. Far less arcane and Westminster-centric, and an immediate improvement for the taxpayer.


  5. Mark Littlewood Says:

    Alix, next time Nick is in front of camera, he will obviously be asked if he supports Huhne and Lamb’s calls. His options are “yes”, “no” and “errrr….”


  6. Angela Harbutt Says:

    Where is Nick Clegg by the way – did anyone see him yesterday at all ?


  7. Alix Says:

    Oh, if/when he’s asked, then he should give a solemn and regretful yes (or indeed no, but it would be less wise). But hurrying into an unsought statement would look desperate – and far less impactful than undertaking to publish all his MPs’ expenses from hereon in. He shouldn’t be afraid to do that just because Cameron did it first.


  8. Neil Craig Says:

    To “back Carswell” is not entirely consistent with saying he is “leading”.


  9. Mark Littlewood Says:

    Oh please, God, help me.

    Alix says he shouldn’t be hurrying.

    Neil says to now back Carswell wouldn’t lok like leading anyway.

    If anyone wants to understand why the LibDems aren’t on the broadcast media very much, the last two comments sum it up.

    If Clegg had called for the Speaker to go in the last 24 hours, he would have been 2nd news item – at worst.

    I’m not necessarily criticisng Alix’s or Neil’s statements, they are well-formed, reasonable and articulate.

    But we need our leader to act faster than this.

    My best guesses:

    1.Michael Martin will go.
    2.Nick Clegg will be a late supporter of this move.
    3.The LibDems will get limited coverage for it.

    Any – or all of – these could be wrong.

    But that’s politics. Sitting around and waiting to see how the cards fall is not a consistently winning strategy.