Oh wad some Power the giftie gie us To see oursels as others see us!

If only Gorbals Mick (as some Tories refer to the Speaker of the House of Commons), could heed the words of his fellow countryman Robert Burns. And not only Michael Martin, what about the Speaker’s toady, John Spellar?

After serious questions had been raised about the Speaker’s expenses, the bearded member for Warley, near Birmingham, told us of his pleasure at seeing Mr Martin in the chair. He then referred to an attempted coup against Mr Martin by the Commons press gallery.

It is a well known tactic for people faced with serious allegations to try and distract their opponents by introducing irrelevant issues. This is the best construction I can place on Mr Spellar’s contention that we journalists have it in for Mr Martin because he hasn’t got a PhD.

George Thomas was from the Welsh Valleys. Bernard Weatherill was a tailor for Heaven’s sake! We had no problem with these humbly-born former speakers.

No. Mr Spellar, along with the Speaker and many other MPs, gives the impression of having given up hope of restoring the reputation of parliamentarians in the eyes of the public: there’s nothing wrong with a system that allows us to get some expenses without even producing receipts, or to claim second home allowances on properties with no mortgage. Let’s just carry on enjoying a highly beneficial expenses regime, with no liability to tax on them.

As someone who has a lot of time for the dedicated work of most politicians, the last few months have nearly had me weeping with frustration as first party funding, and now MPs’ expenses, have completely dominated the news coming out of Westminster.

I often watch the groups of constituents and school students being taken around the Palace of Westminster being told about the traditions of the House and the role of MPs down the ages. Then they come out to buy the Evening Standard with yet another banner headline screaming SCANDAL.

Well, all is not lost. Among the new generation of MPs is one Ben Wallace. I met the member for Lancaster just after he had published his entire expense claims for all to see. When I congratulated him, he intimated to me that it had not made him the most popular guy in the House.

Now Mr Wallace has gone further, suggesting that MPs could be recalled between elections by a petition of 30 per cent of their constituents.

Mr Wallace’s proposal faced a harrumph from Peter Kilfoyle, whose radical instincts seem to have deserted him on this occasion. The Liverpool MP described it as a kneejerk reaction, arguing that someone with money could unduly influence a recall petition.

I can’t easily imagine the scenario whereby a Mr Moneybags, wandering around Walton, could get Mr Kilfoyle’s loyal constituents to turn on him. Undeterred, Mr Wallace remains convinced that something must be done to restore the reputation of Parliament.

All is not lost in another direction as well. The possibility of corruption and ruined lives from a super casino in East Manchester has finally gone away, as I forecast it would in this column a year ago. But we still had to endure the spectacle of local MPs bewailing the loss.

Are we so bereft of ideas for regenerating East Manchester that we had to rely on this tawdry scheme? Better academic and vocational education is the answer. Then you will have a workforce, acceptable to employers, who have plenty of ideas for creating the high-skill, valueadded jobs that will help us compete with, and complement, the growth of the Chinese and Indian economies.

Before I end, eight months ago we were promised Regional Select Committees so that we could shine a light into the recesses of the quangocracy that runs much of the regional infrastructure of England.

There’s still no sign of them, partly because there has been a suggestion that council leaders should be members, not just MPs. It is reported that the main opponent of that idea is the MPs’

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