The Speaker Michael Martin to step down in June? - At last.

From the Red Box:

Several MPs I've spoken to recently - mainly Tory - have suggested that Michael Martin may announce he is standing down ahead of the European elections in June, and hold a by-election on June 4.

Here's their logic.

Labour will be keen to select a new Speaker before the end of the Parliament, while they still have a certain majority. That's the only way they could hope to stop a Tory speaker taking over, and there have even been suggestions recently of a tie-up with the Lib Dems perhaps to select Sir Ming (though I'd be sceptical given it's a secret ballot to select Martin's successor, making deals harder.)

Not a day too soon. I could write a paragraph describing Michael Martin, but I think one word sums him up: STOOGE.