In The Name Of Gord, He Had To Go

Bunkered Brown's disgraced speaker pal, Martin, is quitting before dragging the Supreme Leader down with him. Politicians, press and public are uniting behind calls for a snap general election for a fresh start. In the name of Gord, he had to go.

Disgraced speaker Martin is to quit with an announcement later today - going sooner rather than later, probably before the summer recess, according to The Times.

Neatly side-stepping the looming 'will of parliament' and a humiliating no confidence vote, Martin's resignation gives Brown breathing space and saves his pal's skin.

The commons ringmaster and gatekeeper of the MPs expenses fiddle has been clinging limpet-like to his speaker's chair as moves to bring him to parliamentary justice and oust him gained support and petitions calling for a snap general election fly around like confetti.

The Orange Party isn't the new best friend of Billy-no-mates Brown but one thing was clear. The longer bunkered Brown let the dead speaker walking walk away with it, the worse it would get for beleaguered Brown.

And that left an intractable problem for Downing Street and the tight cabal of Brown's boys.

Martin is part of the problem. He cannot and will not survive whatever political games are played to keep him in post until the general election so his can pick up his peerage and fat pay-off pay cheque.

But if the speaker makes a sharp exit now that would trigger a by-election in his Glasgow constituency and defeat at the hands of the SNP, followed by the rout of an early general election.

If Downing Street wants one thing it's to be in control of the election grid. It was being taken away from them and they didn't like it one bit. A by-election after a summer stand down is just what the spin doctors ordered.

It's starting to leave a bitter taste, with only Martin's cronies in the New Labour ruling party, using the spinning smokescreen of a scapegoat, rallying round to support one of their kind who's brought shame and a plague on both their houses.

But all roads lead back to Brown who shoe-horned his New Labour pal Martin into the job when Blair called time on respected Tiller Girl turned school ma'am Betty Boothroyd.

Once again it is the petty party political tribal loyalties at the heart of a discredited Brown government which are now part of his downfall.

The prime minister pulls the strings behind his long-time buddy, he calls the shots on commons no-confidence votes and decides how to solve a problem like the speaker.

But Martin sticks up for his mate Brown and visa versa. Something had to give as the tribal loyalties threaten to bring down the Party and parliamentary democracy. The ball was in Brown's court. He could put aside his tribal loyalty to Martin and let him go or go down with him.

The Orange Party is starting to lose count of the number of petitions doing the rounds calling for an immediate general election. The Sun along with Cameron the man who can and the Mail have ones up and running today, the Downing Street e-petition calling on Brown to quit is topping 60,000. There's now an online petition for the Queen to dissolve parliament.

For the first time since the English Revolution, rebellion is in the air. Unprecedented scenes of anger, disgust, disgrace and disbelief left the cherished democracy of parliament in tatters. The shamed speaker refused point blank to give in to calls for a no-confidence vote. Calls to quit fell on his deaf and greedy ears while Cromwell's "In the name of God, go!" were ringing in the ears of the honest and decent bunch of MPs left at Westminster.

The speaker has shown his true New Labour colours sticking up for and sucking up to his cronies in a discredited government up to its neck in the shame of MPs' scandalous expenses. He came to epitomise everything that's wrong with the failed and discredited New Labour brand.

Cameron is caught between a rock and a hard place - supporting the office of speaker as any political leader should do but not the man. He's now the one 'getting on with the job', putting his own rotten house in order and calling for an immediate general election to clear the air of the rotten stench.

Today threatened to be another mother of all rows in the mother of all parliaments and utter chaos in Brown's Big Brother house with another stab at a motion to remove the national disgrace of 'Gorbals Mick'.

The 'will of parliament' would have to prevail and Brown would be left vulnerable to attack. The liability for the government, the commons and Brown would have to go. But even sticking in the job until the summer or that general election will not assuage public and parliament anger.

The discredited bunch of New Labour chancers, spivs and downright crooks have only themselves to blame. 'Gorbals Mick' was already in the thick of it well before the Sunday Times and Telegraph's latest revelations.

Only the blinkered and the blind followers of a discredited New Labour brand are desperately trying to cling on to an increasingly bitter end. Clinging on to the vain hope that maybe it will all just blow over and go away.

Reform of parliament is utterly impossible while this arrogant and greedy man remains in office. Getting rid of the commons speaker will not, solve all the problems of the commons. It is a start - but only a start. The Orange Party just hopes he doesn't get rewarded with a cushy peerage for services to New Labour politics.

It's bad enough at the moment, as the storm clouds continue to gather over Westminster and trust in parliament and democracy is at an all-time low.

But an angry public will never forgive Brown and his New Labour Party if the smokescreens and spinners finally win the day and democracy is dragged down to new depths of despair. The MPs' expenses scandal cannot be allowed to rot and fester in a sea of pathetic party political posturing and arrogant tribal loyalties.

Bottom Picture: Private Eye