Speaker of the House of Commons must resign

In view of the scandal over MPs expenses in which numerous British MPs are implicated, the left-liberal daily The Guardian demands the resignation of the Speaker of the House of Commons Michael Martin: "The indulgence of MPs' private interests is all the less tolerable because it has been coupled with a failure to stand up for the authority of parliament as an institution. ... Patience finally snapped on Monday, when the Speaker effectively surrendered his role as an impartial chair and rounded on two MPs for having the audacity to wash Commons linen in public. The institutional failings revealed by the expenses scandal unquestionably go far wider than any one individual. But to put these right the house must learn to open up. And the last few years provide ample evidence that this will require fresh leadership."

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