It is not lost on me just how major the Speaker leaving his position is. I do not believe it has happened for around 300 years. For me, the biggest mistake he ever made was in not convincing everyone that he had left Party politics behind for good – see here!
It is claimed that the Blogosphere is going for Frank Field MP. Whilst I am not amongst the big boys in that arena, he is not my choice. I really admire him and think that the biggest mistake Tony Blair made was not keeping him for welfare reform. It was such an opportunity to leave a lasting legacy and wrong foot the Conservatives. He now serves too important a role as a free thinking back bench Labour MP.
My choice is one of Alan Beith MP & Sir George Young MP. The former has always been one of the Lib-Dems I like most and I think he would be respected and leave party politics behind. The same can be said of Sir George Young and some of the reasons given against him being the next speaker are silly. I learnt on Alan Beith’s website that he is a Welsh Speaker, which I find very impressive, though not a factor in selecting the Speaker.
Tags: Alan Beith MP, Frank Field MP, Sir George Young MP, Speaker
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