Christopher Hatch

It occurred to me as I watched the events in the commons that it was all over for the current Speaker, Michael Martin.  I’m just not sure he realised it.

I don’t see how you can lead and manage the Commons, when it became quite obvious, the Commons had lost all respect in him.  I’m not going to dwell in this short little post about the whole expenses scandal, just this one aspect.

It was fascenating to watch.  I had to refer to Wikipedia at one point after the reference to the Norway Debate but I guess by the chatter after the statement and the audible gasps that it had been a cutting remark from a usually quiet Member of Parliament.

Equally interesting was of course the medias coverage. I watched on BBC News and as is often the way, they were already scenting blood and had been building up all morning to, what they clearly hoped would be, the onslaught.  The pre-match entertainment was the Conservative leader starting his campaign for Europe, but with a request for Parliament to be dissolved immediately to liven things up.

Afterwards MP after MP was dragged infront of the camera to say “the Speaker has lost touch” or “the Speaker should go” and those lone voices who suggested perhaps he wasn’t to blame were riduclaed by the BBC reporter.

Made me wonder who was driving the agenda.  Parliament or the Media.

The answer I decided was the Media.