Michael Martin to tough it out

Much speculation is about at present, mainly suggesting that the Speaker of the House of Commons will be forced out. My senses are that he will stay, at least until the general election next year. He will tell the House this, that and the other, which will basically boil down to the fact that he stays and the members can bring it on if they want, but such action will look like they want a scapegoat rather than a solution. Tomorrow will amount to a lot of talking and nothing much else.

Everything Michael Martin has done as Speaker is to confirm to the world that a sheet metalworker from Glasgow can hold his own amongst those perceived as being far more educated than he is. He has put up with snobbery and slurs. It a lot of ways he may not have the sharpest mind, but he has always struck me as having something of the cleverness of a streetfighter. Some may call it ducking and diving, although for me it rather ressembles being streetwise.

Much of this talk about the Speaker tells more about the members themselves than about him. With an electorate baying for political blood, all bets are off as to who gets what votes. Both Labour and Conservative parties have taken a hit in the opinion polls. The Liberal Democrats are voicing the "sack Martin" message, amplified today by leader Nick Clegg. In a sense, Michael Martin is not so much a scapegoat as a heat deflector. He's expected to absorb all the criticism so that MPs can return to "normal" politics.

Tomorrow will confirm what Speaker Martin will do. Unless I'm totally wrong I am certain he will be Speaker at the end of the week as he was at the beginning.

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