Calling Esther!

I see parliament has responded to the crisis caused by the expenses crisis by electing a Speaker who has maxed out his expenses and flipped his home.

Whilst I don't doubt that Bercow has some qualities, he is supposedly quite good on Burma and Snow White speaks highly of his and his six friends' loyalty. However he seems to have been chosen as a stitch up by Labour MPs.

The convention is that the Speaker is not challenged in the election by the other parties, and I'm sure they will honour that tradition. However an independent candidate wouldn't be so constrained and whilst Bercow is far from the worse trougher his election as Speaker makes him a symbol the problem. So if Esther Rantzen still wants to stand for parliament she should head to Buckingham.

Update: The Speaker-elect declares that he will be a "21st century Speaker", which is good news for those of us who were worried about the possibility of a time traveller taking the position.