The Speaker of the House of Commons must step down and parliament may need to be dissolved after an expenses scandal that has damaged its reputation, the leader of Britain's third main party said on Sunday.
The unusual comments from a party leader underline the pressure politicians are under to change how the system operates to try to restore trust after 10 days of media disclosures about extravagant expenses claims made by members of parliament.
Newspapers reported Queen Elizabeth had expressed concern to Prime Minister Gordon Brown over the disclosures, which have angered Britons at a time of economic recession when some are losing their homes and unemployment is rising.
Pressure is mounting on the Speaker, Michael Martin, over his handling of the expenses scandal which has highlighted flaws in the parliamentary system which pays allowances from the public purse. "I've arrived at the conclusion that the Speaker must go," Liberal Democrats' leader Nick Clegg told BBC television.
"He has proved himself over some time now to be a dogged defender of the way things are, the status quo, when what we need very urgently is someone at the heart of Westminster who will lead a wholesale radical process of reform."
The Sunday Times said a motion of no confidence against Martin could be tabled by members of parliament on Monday.
"We would have a free vote on our side if there was a vote of no confidence in the Speaker," William Hague, opposition Conservative foreign affairs spokesman and ex-party leader, told Sky television. "This needs resolving in the next couple of days." A spokeswoman for Martin declined to comment.
ANCIENT OFFICE:
If ousted, Martin would be the first Speaker to be sacked since 1695. The position of a Speaker or presiding officer in British politics dates back to the 13th century.
As well as keeping order in the lower house of parliament and calling MPs to speak, the Speaker is the house's highest authority who must have support across the political spectrum.
Clegg said politicians may have to go further than replacing Martin and reforming the system to win back public trust. "We might well need to dissolve parliament," he said. "I think this parliament will go down in history as a rotten parliament and we do need it cleaned out, renewed and the people and the procedures in it changed completely."
In 10 days of disclosures from leaked files, the Daily Telegraph newspaper has targeted all the main political parties, detailing expenses claims for moat cleaning, adult films and dog food. The ruling Labour party has been hardest hit and polls point to a backlash at next month's European elections in favour of marginal parties such as the anti-European Union UK Independence Party, the Greens and even the far-right British National Party. Labour has suspended two MPs and one of its junior ministers has stepped down pending an investigation into his finances.