I've only been away a week... (Part 1)

A lot has happened during my enforced 'hiatus'.

Michael Martin finally agreed to resign as Speaker of the Commons. What wasn't made public was that he only agreed to do so on the condition he was allowed to enter the House of Lords immediately where, I have no doubt, his greed will know no bounds and he will oppose any attempts at reform as vigorously as he did in the Commons.

An interesting coincidence was the timing of an announcement by the Metropolitan police and the CPS that they would not be investigating the expenses leak for what were no doubt very valid reasons. Just one hour before his resignation was announced.


More thieving toerags have been 'outed' and as we've come to expect, all of them are denying they did anything wrong. I was particularly impressed by the way Anthony Steen shot himself in the foot with his insane rant on Radio 4's The World At One.

Mr Steen 'said' that the public should not have been allowed to see what he claimed on parliamentary expenses. That ministers had "mucked up the system" by introducing the Freedom of Information Act. That "it is this government that insisted on the things which caught me on the wrong foot" and that his critics were "jealous".

Well... At least he admitted to getting caught I suppose.

Mr Steen later apologised "unreservedly" for his remarks claiming he was "deeply upset" and had "over-reacted". David Cameron told Radio 4 the following day that it was "an appalling thing to say" and that he had warned Anthony Steen that he will be expelled from the parliamentary party if he steps out of line again.

I suspect that had Anthony Steen not already agreed to stand down, he would have been given little choice in the matter.