I have to admit than when it comes to The Speaker (which I can never say without being reminded of this) I have been complacent in caring much about either the position or the individual.
People's understanding of what the Speaker does is extremely low and my knee-jerk reaction is that when parliament became obsessed with the removal of Martin, and electing a new one, that to the outside world it would appear like Extreme Navel-gazing during a period of crisis.
For the record, I also think MPs have had plenty of opportunities to put the current system right by themselves and can't just blame it on the Speaker.
However, listening to the hustings for the Speaker, organised by the Hansard Society (#speakershustings) I am surprised by the candidates' willingness to engage with and lead the coming period of constitutional updating.
Whoever wins is going to have to do more than just chair debates and earn a position in the public mentality as someone who wields influence and, much more importantly, is in touch with wider public opinion and can nudge/steer/cajole/order politicians in the right direction.
SH
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