Vince Cable for King!

(My small contribution to the dancing in the streets at the York Press website, in response to the departure of Speaker Martin): A previous contributor said that "Gorbals Mick has been a disaster since Day 1"

I don't think it's true that he has been a disaster from Day 1 (also, I don't think he shd be called "Gorbals Mick", as he has specifically said he does not like the condescending tag). But I do feel he has been implicated in recent attempts to cover up and conceal information. I just hope it does not transpire that he has a personal reason for doing that.

Vote Vince Cable for King! (or Speaker at least, if he won't accept the monarchy)

“To the Tower!” – but meanwhile, please get on with running the country

It looks like Speaker Martin’s time is up. “Off with his head!” came the cry from scoundrels of all colours in the Commons today – as well as a few honest men.

It seems that Speaker Mick makes his own rules, which includes ruling out of order the motion that could have unseated him. In this he is assisted by three men in gowns and wigs, who clerk in front of him and keep him right on points of procedure. They are untrained in points of ethics.

Among key ideas lost in the recent days of Telegraph-adulation:

1. Who are these journalists? How much are they paid? Have they never fiddled their expenses? (Tweedle-Foulkes at least got it right on telly the other day when he asked the twenties bimbo interviewing him how much she gets paid. 50% more than MPs apparently– and that’s without her expenses.
2. Why don’t others follow the example of Saint Vince Cable? – he has been putting his expenses on his website since 2004.
3. How many lawyers are there in the Commons – and how many does it take to decide what is legal?
4. What’s the role of the Fees Office in all this? It seems they have been at the very least conniving at unethical applications of immoral systems. (Not to mention shielding a mole, who may have made a healthy swag selling CDs to the Telegraph pen-pushers.)

Saddest of all in this sorry spectacle, is that government seems to have stopped while this is sorted out. Thus we have 600 good men and true, not to mention lady MPs, who each earn £60,000 plus. And all they are talking about, according to the papers, is how deep their snout has been in the trough, and how much is visible.

That looks like £1 million pounds per week in my reckoning. Haven’t they got better things to do with their expensive time? (like chasing up a few more bankers for garrotting – now that’s really moral!)