Michael Martin, Baron Martin of Springburn

On 1 November 2006, during Prime Minister's Questions, Martin caused uproar in the House of Commons by ruling out of order a question from Opposition Leader David Cameron in which he challenged Prime Minister Tony Blair over the future leadership of the Labour Party. Martin stated that the purpose of Prime Minister's Questions was for the House to question the Prime Minister on the actions of the government. This caused such dissent amongst MPs that Martin threatened to suspend the session. Cameron re-worded the question to ask about Blair's future as prime minister rather than leader of the Labour Party, which Martin allowed. Conservative MPs threatened to walk out if a similar event occurred in the future.[29]

In 2007, Martin used public money to employ lawyers in challenging negative press stories; media law firm Carter-Ruck was engaged for three months at a cost of more than £20,000. The Liberal Democrat MP Norman Baker criticised the use of taxpayers' money as a "very expensive" way to issue press releases; the TaxPayers' Alliance also expressed disapproval.[30] Martin was also criticised at the same time for trying to block the publication of details of MPs' £5 million-a-year travel expenses under the Freedom of Information Act.[30]

On 24 February 2008, John Lyon, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, was asked by the Taxpayers' Alliance to investigate whether Martin had abused parliamentary expenses and allowances. Lyon was obliged to examine all such complaints although the Commissioner could have ruled that the complaint was unfounded. This followed a week in which Martin's spokesman, the veteran Whitehall communications chief Mike Granatt of PR agency Luther Pendragon, resigned after admitting that he had unwittingly misled The Mail on Sunday over more than £4,000 in taxi expenses incurred by the Speaker's wife, Mary Martin. Granatt blamed unnamed officials, but not the Speaker, for falsely informing him that the expenses were legitimate because Martin's wife had been accompanied by an official on shopping trips to buy food for receptions. In fact, her housekeeper had accompanied her; catering for such receptions is the responsibility of the parliamentary caterers.[31]

On 29 March 2008, The Daily Telegraph revealed that refurbishment of Michael Martin's official residence, Speaker's House, had amounted to £1.7 million over seven years. The house is inside the Palace of Westminster.[32] On 14 May 2009, The Daily Telegraph reported that Martin had claimed £1,400 for using chauffeur-driven cars that included visits to Celtic Park, home of Celtic Football Club, and his local Job Centre.[33]

In November 2008, Conservative immigration spokesman Damian Green was arrested,[34] in connection with a police investigation into alleged leaks from the Home Office.[35] The MP was detained for nine hours, and his homes and office in the House of Commons office were searched.[35] Green was never charged with any crime.[35] The raid on Commons premises angered many MPs, who viewed it as infringement on the democratic prerogatives of parliament.[34][35]

Martin's spokesperson was asked if he had approved the Metropolitan Police searching Green's Commons office without a search warrant, and replied: "There is a process to be followed and that was followed."[34] When Parliament reconvened a few days later, Martin read a statement to MPs, stating that "I have been told that the police did not explain, as they are required to do, that (House serjeant at arms Jill Pay) was not obliged to consent or that a warrant could have been insisted on." Martin also said that Pay had given consent for the search without consulting the clerk of the house. The Metropolitan Police questioned Martin's account of events, writing in a letter to Home Secretary Jacqui Smith that police "explained the nature of the investigation and the purpose of the search" to Pay "and were satisfied that the serjeant at arms understood that police had no power to search in the absence of a warrant and therefore could only do so with her written consent or that of the Speaker."[36]

Martin later testified that Pay had informed him of the police plans to raid a Commons office and arrest an MP, but was told that the arrest was related to terrorism. In a subsequent statement to a Commons committee investigating the incident, Martin said Pay failed to tell him that the search was being conducted on the basis of a consent form she had signed, rather than on the basis of a search warrant.[35] Martin criticised Pay's actions and those of the Commons clerk, Malcolm Jack, related to the affair.[35] A report on the investigation, published in 2010, criticized Martin, writing that as speaker he "failed to exercise the ultimate responsibility, which was his alone, to take control and not merely expect to be informed" and that he "should have been asking the right questions and ... should have taken more responsibility for exercising the authority of his high office."[37] The report also criticized "failings" by multiple parties, including other Commons officials, civil servants, and the police, determining that they had made a "quite unnecessary" and "poorly executed" arrest of Green.[37]

In 2009, Martin was involved in a row over expenses incurred by MPs on taxpayer-funded British Council trips. In 2008 Conservative MP Mark Lancaster flew business class to Bangkok with the British Council for a two-day conference, at a cost of £5,018. Labour MP Sally Keeble flew out economy class and returned business class at a cost of £2,452. MPs must normally declare any hospitality they receive from outside organisations, and the British Council does not appear on a list of bodies whose gifts are exempt from the requirement. Martin signed a special certificate preventing the release of information about these trips, citing "Parliamentary privilege".[38]

On 12 May 2009, the BBC reported that Michael Martin was under pressure to resign.[39] On 17 May, Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg said that Michael Martin should stand down, saying he had become an obstacle to much-needed reform of Parliament.[40] On 19 May, Douglas Carswell tabled a motion of no confidence, which 22 MPs signed.[41] Later that day, Martin announced his intention to resign effective as of 21 June 2009.[4] If the motion had been successful in a vote, Martin would have been the first Speaker to be forced out of office by a motion of no confidence since John Trevor in 1695.[42] Martin said of his decision to resign:

Since I came to this House 30 years ago, I have always felt that the House is at its best when it is united. In order that unity can be maintained, I have decided that I will relinquish the office of Speaker on Sunday 21 June. This will allow the House to proceed to elect a new Speaker on Monday 22 June. That is all I have to say on this matter.[43][44]

He was made the Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead to be able to stand down as an MP on the same date,[5][note 1] forcing a by-election in his constituency of Glasgow North East.[45] An election for Speaker was held on 22 June, which was won by John Bercow.[46]

Speakers are normally elevated to the House of Lords when they retire, and the government said it considered this a "formality".[47] A vetting panel for the House of Lords pointed out to Prime Minister Gordon Brown that nominees had to "enhance rather than diminish" the standing of the house, which some Labour MPs interpreted as a slur against Martin. Sixteen MPs signed a Commons motion requesting that the peer responsible, Lord Jay, withdraw his comment.[48] In accordance with tradition, as soon as Martin's successor as Speaker was installed, the first motion passed by the House of Commons was a resolution directing that a humble Address be presented to The Queen, asking her "to confer some signal mark of Her Royal favour" (i.e., a peerage) upon Martin "for his eminent services during the important period in which he presided with such distinguished ability and dignity in the Chair of this House".[49][50]