An absolute disgrace

Verity

God, he's disgusting.

Can he be sacked? If so, by whom?

JM78

Sir Patrick Cormack

James Drake

Frank Field

Colin

our MP's could sort this in a heartbeat if they really wanted to. By boycotting the chamber umtil a debate is granted, the business of the house would be disrupted. It would also help us decide which of them really are up for change.

Jimmy Mac

William Hague

Elf

Frank Field

Craig Barrett

Martin's problem is that he doesn't really understand the Commons and lacks the sense of history that got him there.

As such, I'd go for someone respected on all sides, like Frank Field or Sir George Young.

Feste

Frank Field

Mazza1230

Vince Cable

Bernard from Horsham

Frank Field

Old Safety Enginerr

Poor old Mick - he hadn't a clue - had to keep asking the clerk what he should do!

Surely he can't last till an election now - unless GB calls one before the recess.

There was genuine anger in the house today.

OT watched Home OFiice Qs before speakers statement - what an odious, pompous little toad Phil Woolas is!

CDF

There are only two people who have the credibility with the public to take on the role: Vince Cable and Frank Field. Frank Field is the more logical choice as he is (nominally) a member of the party in power.

Don

Quite frankly Zippy or Bungle would be better, but Frank Field would seem like a starter.

George

Totally agree. We now need a true Parliamentarian to lead the House back from the cliff edge. Sir Patrick Cormac showed himself today to be able to measure the mood of the House and express it in a mild and polite manner - just what the HofC needs. The worst thing it could do would be to get a 'celebrity' speaker.

Elsie

Well, certainly not my MP - Michael Foster. He's an absolute Cock of the first order.

Mazza1230

Vince Cable

stereodog

With regard to who should be next speaker. I haven't heard anyone else suggest this name but what about John (Viscount) Thurso, Lib Dem MP for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross? I suggest him because he has experience in both houses of Parliament (having previously been an hereditary Lord)as well as in business and he isn't an out and out party man. He also seems to have come out of the expenses scandal well and represents a long tradition of public service. Just a thought as an outside bet anyway.

wittringsfromwitney

Regarding nominations for next speaker from current MPs - it is not that simple is it?

Why should MPs who have claimed for items other than rent/mortgage, utility bills be included in the list of candidates?

Why should not MPs be forced to return to their constituencies and substantiate their claims to their electorate in open meeetings - they represent all their constituents regardless of the constituents political 'leanings'?

It is after all our Parliament, we, the people, pay for it therefore we should have a say in who parties are putting up for candidature and in the selection process

If you wish to 'clean up' democracy then let us 'clean' all of it rather than tinker at the edges.

Tiberius

Many people might say that Martin is not New Labour, but it is the characteristic break with tradition of NuLab that has put this Labour speaker in post.

He certainly behaves like a disciple of this repulsive creed: no shame, no honour, no humility, no self-awareness, and, of course, no resignation.

strapworld

Mr Hoskin, Martin did not thiunk this one out himself. This is pure, unadulterated Brown.

Brown looking after one of his own. Looking after one who looks after him! Brown playing politics with the position of speaker, who is supposed to be above politics.

This will not play well. The Labour Party will not allow it to be debated, but someone will find a way. and Martin is well and truly finished. Except that I think Brown will demand a three line whip!!

Politics will be the death of Brown!

McKenzie

Vince Cable

Gaw

Chris Huhne

Sid Rumpo

Frank Field

Alex

Kate Hoey

Ian Walker

Since there will shortly be a Conservative government, it should be a Labour Speaker.

My choice would be Jack Straw. Alternatively, how about Diane Abbot?

jon dee

Blather, bluster, no great speaker Mr Martin remains in denial, while parliament and the people know he sits firmly on the fault line.

He and his devious committee were part of the cause and should not be allowed to pretend a cure.He must go now.

My admiration for Sir George Young's intelligence,judgement and personality make him my favourite, with Field and Cable in the frame.

To Mr Martin and his friends. No, its not a class thing or scapegoating, its a competence thing.

Jonathan_T

Menzies Campbell

golfwidow

I have just emailed my MP, asking him to sign Douglas Carswell's motion. I urge all Coffeehousers to do likewise.

Dirty Euro

Dennis Skinner

Malc P

Tebbit would have been perfect. In his absence, Ken Clarke; possibly Widdecombe?

Seb Cameron

After today, Sir Patrick Cormack. Would support Frank Field, but three Labour Speakers in a row is surely stretching the alternating parties convention a little too far.

Andy Carpark

Dusty Bin

Andrew Cadman

Bob Spink

Yorkshireman

Frank Field

Michael Booth

Well, what can you say, other than... if this is the Mother of Parliaments in action then God help democracy. Surely it is a bottle of whisky and loaded revolver time for Mr Speaker - either than or a move to impreach him coming from the floor of the House.

idle

It's got to be Field. He takes the House seriously, he has ministerial experience, and is untainted, not just by the expenses fiasco, but also the NuLabour fiasco, which has so harmed our institutions. He is quiet and correct.

Definitely not Cormack, who has been, until today, a purveyor of bromides.

Moraymint

Mr Frank Field MP

Susan Hill

Vince Cable

J Wright

Anne Widdicombe As temp Speaker until the Next election During which the whole situation can be sorted out asregards length of service how An unsuitable one can be disposed secret ballot. It istypical of M.P.s that this situation has to be sorted out in the heat of the moment. Did none of those idiots realise that after 300yrs the lrules should have been brought up to date . The usual excuse of no Parliamentary Time is pathetic when that hunting bill took up 700 hours of P.T. Kate Hoeys claim that lab. whips prevented Mrs Dunwoody ,an honest M.P. should be investigated.If so they are ultimately responsible for the present mess and should resign with their shyster mate mich.

YouCannotBeSerious

Tony Wright

Vulture

Norman Baker

Archie

Time to be done with this preposterous, blustering buffoon!
Cameron; do something useful for once!

The Watcher

Alan Beith

Obnoxio The Clown

I don't know who I would nominate, but my best bet is that someone unpartisan like Tommy McAvoy will be appointed next.

/sarcasm

Florence Nightingale

It used to be traditional for the position of Speaker to be alternated between parties. The Labour Party flouted this tradition when it voted in Martin, but as a committed Conservative supporter I would personally have no objection to Frank Field.

Archie

John Redwood.

Andy

Without a doubt it should be Frank Field. He understands and loves Parliament.

Bedd Gelert

A smart move would be for 'Ming the Merciless' to agree to stand on a platform of only doing the job for a maximum term of 5 years, and be willing to step down before then if a posse of '12 good men and true' came to have a quiet word.

Then MPs might be sure that he could crack on with reform, but not be hanging around forever like a bad smell.

Steve

Frank Field

Bruce Robertson

Teresa May.

That'll get her off the telly.

Max Kaye

Opit Lemsip

(or whatever his name is).

Just for the fun of it.

Young Mr Paul

Anybody with a pulse, or indeed without one, would be an improvement.

TrevorsDen

Why when we have a con gov should we have a labour speaker/

A labour majority elected Martin - when by convention since the last speaker was labour, it should have been a conservative.

Field would be OK but from somewhere it should be a Conservative. A rue speaker of course would and should rise above politics so normally party would not matter. Speaker Thomas came from a humble labour background and was excellent. Weatherall was a Tory and would have handled this much better.

Not Cable.

Lady A

Vince Cable - he has real experience outside politics
Anne Widdecombe if she wasn't stepping down
Kate Hoey as an outsider
William Hague - the perfect voice for Order! Order!

Ricky

Frank Field, Norman Baker or Kate Hoey

Rivere

Would say Hague, but he may one day be set for bigger things.

Anseo

Sir George Young

Florence Nightingale

Speaker Thomas, my all-time favourite, offered to step down when Mgt.Thatcher came to power and she would not hear of it.
As long as the next speker recognises that he is responsible for Parliament not Pary and that it is his job to uphold the integrity and honesty of the whole House I would be satisfied.

hadrian

Were it not for her countless other duties and the fact it'd drive her to an all too early grave, I'd vote for the Monarch herself to drive a coach and horses through the Blairite shredded Constitution and she could ascend the Chair herself.
That aside, I think it's a choice amongst Frank Field, Diane Abbot, John Thurso or William Hague- if we can afford to lose him from the Front Benches.

Chris

Sir Patrick McCormack

Boudicca

Vince Cable

JJ

I propose Rudyard Kipling MP for Bombay or Charles James Fox.

Susan Hill

Anne Widdecombe, if she could be persuaded but she is standing down at the next election so maybe she wouldn`t want it.
Next to her, Vince Cable-so-Able.
Frank Field is needed elsewhere.

Ben Elford

Somebody able to speak English, and to read coherently from a piece of paper, would be good.

marksany

Andrew Makinley,

never afraid to stand up to the executive and parlimetarian of the year winner

Liz Elliot-Pyle

I would have said Ann Widdecombe, until I read her article where she said "who would you expect to mow my lawn?" My answer in the comments was "I cant afford to pay anyone to mow my lawn, why should I pay for someone to mow YOUR lawn though my taxes?"
She has fallen in my estimation. Anyone who will not pay for their gardener from a salary of £64,000 should not be the next speaker.

Fernando

Someone fairly young and not afraid to upset either front bench. Given the disregard in which the HofC is held we also need someone good at communications, able to show the electors that things are really changing.
How about John Bercow?

Pip Gold

David Davies (Haltemprice and Howden !) He would take it seriously and apply himself and be impartial. Unlike the present incumbent - sorry, I meant present imbecilic incumbent.
Anne Widdicombe might be good - worth a trying out for the fag end of Labour.
Yates of the Yard would be a definite winner.

THX1138

Guido!

TGF UKIP

Secret ballot or not it's going to be both whipped and tribal on the Labour side.

My view is the Tories are crackers to get rid of Martin now when there is a substantial Labour majority and a Labour Party leader with such a visceral hatred of the Tories.

Mind you there's never been any stopping the Stupid Party from being exactly that so the chances are they'll end up with either another unsatisfactory and partisan Labour figure or an equally unsatisfactory Menzies Campbell.

All the names mentioned above are out of recent headlines and while Frank Field may be an admirable figure, he's probably too sane, too useful and too interesting not to have round to comment on policy matters.

Stand out man for me would be the well respected Richard Shepherd - and yes his expenses last year were indeed far below most.

Wilhelm

''Say which MPs you'd nominate as Speaker in the comments section below''

A tub of lard.

Gorbals Mick , a tub of lard, its the same thing.

Wilhelm

'' I suspect we all knew that this bad joke of a Speaker wouldn't take the honourable route, and resign all by himself. ''

Let me put it this way, Peter, Gorbals Mick is a stubborn bastard, I dont know how else to put it.

Plus if he retires next year he'll get £100.000 and get kicked upstairs into the house of lords.

He aint going to pass that up, now is he ?

Howard

Kate Hoey

Major Plonquer

OK.

1. I'd like to nominate myself. I could use a new telly and the carpet needs a shampoo.
2. Frank Ifield. Having his 1960s hit 'I Remember You' he'll never forget what's his name - the learer of the LibDems - name again.
3. Gordon Brown. He's going to need a job.
4. Sir Goeorge Younger - or is it Young. Anyway the one that's not dead.

Nicola

I suggest picking from a list (we haven't got it yet)of all the MP's who haven't fiddled their expense claims or "flipped" their residence status. That should shorten the options immensley. Failing that I propose Ian Hislop!

ian skidmore

frank field

Alex of old

William Hague - we need someone who can perform well in public, can bring a sense of humour to the badly defalted Commons and can get the Prime Minister of the day to answer questions at PMQ - he does not want to be PM so let's have William as Speaker in preperation for the day that the other William is King - succession planning, that would be a first for politicians.

mick-ex-pat

If this man,is emlpoyed by the state then he can be sacked?
WHAT IS GOING WITH THIS Circus

Mr Green

Michael Palin

Carl

I would have said Ming Campbell, but he let himself down with his arrogance over expenses on question time.

So, Vince Cable or Frank Field.

Christina T.

Sir Menzies Campbell

Simon

Hazel Blears (would need to sit on a cushion)

Wily Trout

The Beast of Bolsover

Mike

Bono

WilliamCobbett

Frank Field is far too good on policy issues to lose for a position which is only being a chairman after all. Tony Wright or Ann Widdecombe (let's ask her to reconsider). Above all, we need a strong field; Cable, Widdecombe, Wright as above. In respect of policy, Cable's forte is thought to be economics, but he is just a cleverer and more balanced Keynesian (snake-oil salesman). His personal qualities and ability at ballroom dancing would stand him MPs and us in good stead.