My Masterplan is that Joanna Lumley can become the Speaker after she has stood against (and obviously ousted) that ginger witch Blears.

The only minor flaw in my otherwise perfect plan is that it is unlikely that the lovely Ms Lumley would ever want to become the MP for Salford (and who can blame her?). Damn.

Originally Posted by Plastic Yank

agree - Frank Field. very honest debater, not beholden to the labour party and intelligent enough to make a difference.

I'd certainly have no issue with Field - he's perhaps one of a handful of remaining Labour MPs who still remember and honour the public service job spec.

Originally Posted by PY

Like the idea of Vince Cable, but he is too important and too vocal on other issues to be sent to the chair!! he needs to be on the benches ripping apart this current gov't and keeping the next one accountable.

Fair comment mate - probably be wasted on the commode - and is one of the few MPs (front bench or otherwise) who's actually an economist; so can bat his corner in the debates on how badly the, ahem, 'Iron Chancellor' (prior to becoming PM) fukked-up the economy in the first place.

Originally Posted by Odo_de_StAmand

Originally Posted by Archimedes

Originally Posted by LancePrivateJones

I quite like Richard Shepherd(C) who seems like one of the good old fashioned types and is pretty untainted by any type of sleeze. Fundamentally a decent man who votes according to his conscience and has ignored many a three line whip (in Government and out of it), so a true independent spirit which would be correct for Mr Speaker. If he can keep his emotional personality in check he would be ideal.

Conversely, Frank Field(L) because I like the way he stands up to his own party and the Government if he has a bee in his bonnet. He is neither 'Old' or 'New' Labour and has always been his own man.
Frank also hates both Broon and Harperson and they hate him.
The Tories love him.
He is pretty well qualified in my opinion.

Either of these would be good but I reckon that political expediency will dictate the next Speaker will probably be a Tory.

Gordon Brown would love Field to be Speaker, since this would prevent him from criticising the multiple failings of Brown's welfare policy. While I'm sure he'd be a very good speaker, he probably offers most value to the country by being a back-bencher challenging some of the complacency about the welfare state in a way which Tories can't.

Shepherd would be very good, as would Sir George Young. Young probably should've been Speaker after Boothroyd, but Brown's manoeuvrings and Ted Heath's farcical mishandling of the selection/election debate meant that Martin was chosen. The problem facing the Tories is that the Lib Dems probably deserve a shot at the Speaker's job after an 80-year gap and there are enough Labour MPs who would refuse to vote for a speaker who's a Tory as there are a few who have said or inimtated that Martin's been nobbled by a plot by Tory snobs...(e.g. Austin Mitchell).

Agree 100% about Frank Field, as I am sure he would make an excellent Speaker, but I would hate to lose his ability to comment on all other issues - better he remain the honest, hard-working, intelligent and highly-vocal MP he is.

Although I will vote Tory, Frank Field is an excellent MP, shame on Bliar for getting rid of him when asked to "think the unthinkable"

Odo

He's far too far up himself. I think we need someone a bit more humble.

And it's true he was asked to think the unthinkable. The trouble was that he came up with the undoable.

What exactly is - 'A TORY SNOB'?

Is it the same as an - 'INVERTED LABOUR SNOB'?

What about a 'fence-sitting, hand-wringing, Utopia living' 'LIBERAL SNOB'?

I reckon all that this failed, disgraced and dishonest government has left in it's so-called 'armoury of argument', is a pathetic attempt to ignite a 'class war'.

They really are a bunch of 'no-hopers', led by the unelectable, supported by the indefensible, and encouraged by the 'brain-dead' = 'ashie'.

This is supposed to be a time of 'Great reorganisation' in the HoC so why don't we do some real out-of-the-box thinking.

The whole mess has been concocted by MPs, exploited by MPs and governed by MPs so why should we have an MP as Speaker? If they want true independance why not appoint someone with no party connections of any sort, is not an MP and 'one of the boys'.

Advertise the job just as any other and the interview panel can be made up of a couple of MPs, senior civil servant and some people from the business world.

As I say, why have just MPs in for the job?

Originally Posted by lsquared

What exactly is - 'A TORY SNOB'?

Is it the same as an - 'INVERTED LABOUR SNOB'?

What about a 'fence-sitting, hand-wringing, Utopia living' 'LIBERAL SNOB'?

I reckon all that this failed, disgraced and dishonest government has left in it's so-called 'armoury of argument', is a pathetic attempt to ignite a 'class war'.

They really are a bunch of 'no-hopers', led by the unelectable, supported by the indefensible, and encouraged by the 'brain-dead' = 'ashie'.

Brain deadable, surely. Did you run out of "ble"s?

Originally Posted by Auld-Yin

This is supposed to be a time of 'Great reorganisation' in the HoC so why don't we do some real out-of-the-box thinking.

The whole mess has been concocted by MPs, exploited by MPs and governed by MPs so why should we have an MP as Speaker? If they want true independance why not appoint someone with no party connections of any sort, is not an MP and 'one of the boys'.

Advertise the job just as any other and the interview panel can be made up of a couple of MPs, senior civil servant and some people from the business world.

As I say, why have just MPs in for the job?

That is a brilliant idea.

A good high court Judge (They do exist) or a senior silk would be ideal.

How this could be facilitated God only knows but it would truly remove any question of partiality from the Speakers chair.

I propose Mike Mansfield QC who would take no bloody nonsense.

Originally Posted by LancePrivateJones

Originally Posted by Auld-Yin

This is supposed to be a time of 'Great reorganisation' in the HoC so why don't we do some real out-of-the-box thinking.

The whole mess has been concocted by MPs, exploited by MPs and governed by MPs so why should we have an MP as Speaker? If they want true independance why not appoint someone with no party connections of any sort, is not an MP and 'one of the boys'.

Advertise the job just as any other and the interview panel can be made up of a couple of MPs, senior civil servant and some people from the business world.

As I say, why have just MPs in for the job?

That is a brilliant idea.

A good high court Judge (They do exist) or a senior silk would be ideal.

How this could be facilitated God only knows but it would truly remove any question of partiality from the Speakers chair.

I propose Mike Mansfield QC who would take no bloody nonsense.

Cherie Blair?

Originally Posted by ashie

Originally Posted by LancePrivateJones

Originally Posted by Auld-Yin

This is supposed to be a time of 'Great reorganisation' in the HoC so why don't we do some real out-of-the-box thinking.

The whole mess has been concocted by MPs, exploited by MPs and governed by MPs so why should we have an MP as Speaker? If they want true independance why not appoint someone with no party connections of any sort, is not an MP and 'one of the boys'.

Advertise the job just as any other and the interview panel can be made up of a couple of MPs, senior civil servant and some people from the business world.

As I say, why have just MPs in for the job?

That is a brilliant idea.

A good high court Judge (They do exist) or a senior silk would be ideal.

How this could be facilitated God only knows but it would truly remove any question of partiality from the Speakers chair.

I propose Mike Mansfield QC who would take no bloody nonsense.

Cherie Blair?

No, her father will do.

Originally Posted by ashie

Originally Posted by LancePrivateJones

Originally Posted by Auld-Yin

This is supposed to be a time of 'Great reorganisation' in the HoC so why don't we do some real out-of-the-box thinking.

The whole mess has been concocted by MPs, exploited by MPs and governed by MPs so why should we have an MP as Speaker? If they want true independance why not appoint someone with no party connections of any sort, is not an MP and 'one of the boys'.

Advertise the job just as any other and the interview panel can be made up of a couple of MPs, senior civil servant and some people from the business world.

As I say, why have just MPs in for the job?

That is a brilliant idea.

A good high court Judge (They do exist) or a senior silk would be ideal.

How this could be facilitated God only knows but it would truly remove any question of partiality from the Speakers chair.

I propose Mike Mansfield QC who would take no bloody nonsense.

Cherie Blair?

I was talking about somebody 'Impartial' Ashie not a NuLabour Apparatchik.
I think we have seen enough of that type.