Shepherd to stand for Speaker job
Aldridge and Brownhills MP Richard Shepherd has confirmed he will stand in the contest to succeed Michael Martin as the next Commons Speaker.
Aldridge and Brownhills MP Richard Shepherd has confirmed he will stand in the contest to succeed Michael Martin as the next Commons Speaker.
The 66-year-old became the latest to throw his name in the hat, after fellow Tories including South Staffordshire Sir Patrick Cormack and Anne Widdecombe declared their intention to stand.
The former speaker resigned following the recent expenses scandal that has rocked parliament and seen confidence in politicians plunge to a new low.
Having represented his constituency for 30 years, he vowed to restore the public's faith in MPs in an open letter to colleagues.
"I am standing because this Parliament has lost the confidence of those who sent us here," he said. "There are a number of reasons. Obviously the unedited and highly publicised release of member's expenses has exposed the house as a whole to the contempt and ridicule of those whom we represent.
"In such a fury we all suffer. The purpose of the House is discounted. We have to accept the public no longer recognise the role or purpose of an MP to safeguard their rights and freedoms, to scrutinise legislation and hold the executive to account.
"All my time in this House I have believed in what we could be rather than what we have become."
He added:"It is the Speaker who upholds and safeguards the independence of the House, a role over the next few months will be crucial. "Not only for this House but in reestablishing public confidence in the role of the House of Commons and MPs before the next election. I believe whoever is elected Speaker on June 22 should stand down at the Dissolution of this parliament and stand as an ordinary citizen for contested re-election in their constituency.
"It will then be for the new Parliament to choose a Speaker whether it be he or she who has served in the interim or another from its midst. The Speaker of this House must have the authority conferred by those elected in the new Parliament."
Other known candidates for the job, to be decided by a Commons vote on June 22, include Parmjit Dhanda, Sir Michael Lord, Frank Field, Sir George Young, Sir Alan Beith and Margaret Beckett.
