Not Beckett

Labour still don't get it. If, as rumours have it, Nick Brown is whipping Labour in support of Margaret Beckett then Labour is compounding a major mistake.

Beckett is too close to the Labour hierarchy and given her extremely dodgy expenses claims (remember that pergola anyone? or has that been forgotten in the deluge of scandal since?) she is pretty well as tainted as anyone. As her disastrous performance on Question Time showed she will not be the person to improve the image of politicians with the public. My suspicion is that if elected the howls of protest from the press at a blatant whipping operation by the bunker will destroy her speakership before it even starts.

Also a third Labour speaker on the trot? Now I know that the so-called convention on alternating speakers doesn't actually exist but this is ridiculous.

Personnally I want Ann Widdicome - not especially because I like her - but for the simple reason that she has stated that she will be an interim Speaker and hence will buy time to sort out the mess.