scoobmj

iTrader: (3)

i don't know about anyone else, but i feel quite sorry for Micheal Martin.

dont get me wrong i think all these politicians have been a bunch of greedy self serving W*@kers but who are they to turn on one man like he is to blame?

bit political and sensible conversation i know, but topical!

FlightMan

Martin tried everything possible to stop the expenses information getting out. He was a big part of the problem and had to go.

Hazel Blears next please!

GlesgaKiss

I don't understand what he's done so badly wrong. The fact that I don't give a f*ck might have something to do with that. Half the people in that place are as bent as can be. Just shifting the emphasis on to someone else.

tanyatriangles

iTrader: (2)

Looked like a very sad old man this morning, so yes, some sympathy.

And yes, Blears and Jackboots Smith next, please.

Martin2005

Let's not forget McNulty either

sarasquares

iTrader: (1)

I think all this is quite exciting as it will change things forever, and surely it will be for the better. Government is full of pompous thieving liars so i say sack them all


I don't pretend to know about politics

Dr.No

Sod just throwing individuals out - time to get the big broom out and have a General Election ASAP as far as I'm concerned....

scoobmj

iTrader: (3)

that maybe, but he didn't create the system. he just used it the same as others did.

cant see why he is being given such a hard time

scoobmj

iTrader: (3)

good call, but members from all parties have had their fingers in the pot

warrenm2

he was a nightmare from day one, politicizing a supposedly independent role. He was foisted on the house by Brown and deserves to go (and Martin!)

jonc

Michael Martin was very much part of the expenses scandal, like his questionable £1.7million refurbishment of his official residence in parliament, or his £1400 spent on being chauffeured around his constituency, or the small matter of "official" trips to exotic locations with his wife. He tried everything legally possible to stop the publication of MP's expenses and was wholly against any sort of reform of the expenses system. Good riddance I say!

David Lock

i feel sorry for...

Well I don't!!

He should never have been appointed in the first place. A poorly educated sheet metal worker given one of the highest jobs in gov't??

Reminded me of Bush - can't even read his own speech properly.

Perhaps his pension pot of 1.4 million will help

dl

chocolate_o_brian

iTrader: (22)

To the O.P., do you still feel sorry for him now that he is retiring and not resigning.

Oh and his pension - £80,000 a year.

Me and Tanya (Jeff) were watching this unfold yesterday morning over a nice cuppa Carte Noire (cheers Jeff ), and having sat down and explained how the system works, I almost, almost felt some empathy for the guy (Michael Martins, not Jeff). It did seem although one of the worst for fiasco, that the MP's were using him as a scapegoat.

Having seen the news this morning approx 6.30 on GMTV and BBC, that opinion has firmly changed.

dpb

theres always the sheet metal working

Henrik

iTrader: (5)

As much as I can't stand the expenses crap and more importantly Labour, it's a personal tragedy for Mr Martin, for sure.

Edit: and that's why I feel sorry for him. He needed to go because of his expenses, him trying to block the public getting access to accounts etc etc

pwhittle

True, but I doubt they complained when he was trying to protect them (doing his job), then when it failed they turned on him to try and appease the public - dumb fools that they are.

Leslie

I wouldn't bother. I see his pension will be £77K annually + a large cash handout of course. And he will be in the Lords!

I suppose they owe him something however for trying to cover up their thieving habits! His wife did well too-claiming £4K for taxis in a year to do the shopping!

Les

spireite

edited for accuracy

stilover

If he'd opening made all expenses information accessible to the public, he'd have been accused of trying to bring down Parliament.

Not one MP wanted their expenses information known. It was only because a leak made the press have a hard-on, that Flash, Cameron, and that other bloke....... you know? the Lib-dem fella had to be seen to be doing something about it.

It was only when they had to make it public did they look for a scapegoat. Martin's fitted the bill. It's all his fault, even though we took the P1ss and claimed for everything we could at the Tax payers expense.

I do feel sorry for him. They turned on him like a pack of Wolfs. There are MP's that should be arrested for Fraud. Will they? No. Why? It was all Martins fault.

Somehow they think that by getting Martins out, the public will somehow forget about it. They bad apple has gone, all Politicians are now Honorable again.

Leslie

I certainly agree that those MP's who are found to have been cheating, either outside their very broad rules or morally for that matter should be prosected and made to pay it all back.

He did however go to court on our money to try to get the information suppressed.

Les

Timwinner

iTrader: (3)

By "chance" the date he leaves is just past his long service date which gives him 100k bonus.
Maybe he could pay it back towards the 140k of public money he used trying to stop the expenses being published.

Devildog

Scapegoat or not, he was an old school labour union dinosaur, much like Prescott.

He conducted himself badly, had a history of **** ups (the police raids without warrants?) and was simply not up to the job.

His arrogance covered his basic lack of intelligence, and as has been said above, he's going to cream it in for the rest of his life.

Certainly not the kind of person who should be in such a powerful position. The one person who must be beyond reproach in the house of commons is the speaker. When the bloke who's supposed to make sure parlaiment is run correctly is as bent as the rest of them, what chance is there?

What is there to be sympathetic about?

stilover

That every single politician wanted stopped. Flash would have been helping him stop

stilover

That every single politician wanted stopped. Flash would have been helping him stop it.

New_scooby_04

iTrader: (4)

I'm not really sympathetic towards him as he was part of the problem.

It's more of a case of I didn't think I could lose any more respect for the MPs than I already had over the expenses issue, until they shamelessly tried to take the heat off themselves by jumping on the 'speaker scapegoat' bandwagon!

The lack of moral fibre and integrity in many of today's politicians just astounds me!

SJ_Skyline

No sympathy whatsoever, you reap what you sow.

Sadly in Martin's case he seems to have got off rather lightly.