let me talk to members expenses. this subject has caused understandable loss of public trust and confidence in us all. in my 30 years in this house, i have seen nothing like it. let me see again -- let me say again to the men and women of this country, i am sorry.

they worked very hard to produce detailed and throw proposals. they took a wide range of evidence and produced a report that was blunt and straightforward. there were 18 separate recommendations presented to the house on the fourth of july, 2008. in a letter to me on the 13th of june last year, sir christopher caylee, chairman of the standards in public life, commented that there were -- they were pleased to see the proposal for a more robust system and insurance based for the most part on the claims backed by receipts and the

implied acceptance of complete transparency about what is claimed. taking together -- taken together, these seem to be significant steps toward the establishment of the robust regime that mp's and the taxpayer have a right to expect. the response from this house was deeply disappointing. half of the members did not attend to vote, and more than half of those who did vote rejected the proposals. i regret it that the then. i deeply regret it now. i expect many members of this house share my regret. of course, the recommendations would not have solved every difficulty, but they would have ended many practices for which members have been attacked in

recent weeks. some proposals have been seized upon by party leaders, who have come up with their own solutions, but by and large, those solutions were in my committee's 18 recommendations. they would have stopped claims for furniture, household goods, ended the claiming of the cost of second homes, and introduced a robust system of internal and crucially external audit and it reduced the reseat level to zero. i wish with all my heart those recommendations had won the confidence of the house last july. i wish that party leaders would have shown then some of the leadership which they have shown

now. tradition has it that such votes are not work, but this does not remove the responsibility of leaders to speak up for common sense and for the obvious wishes of the country in seeking reform. we should have done this last year. as to the legal challenges made to the freedom of information act, as speaker, i see that some members wanted to complete -- wanted complete and total transparency. others strongly advocated the information should only be to a certain degree. the representations to me from every party under every level of those parties. i listened to these representations, but i was also

aware that an important area of law which as this decision of a fairly new type to publish the details of 14 members of parliament had to be tested in a higher court because its decision would affect all 646 members. what we now know is that transparency will be the house at's best safeguard. ridgy it will be the house's best safeguard. on may 24, the people entrusted me with the greatest honor of my life when i was returned as a member of parliament. this is the place where i served my apprenticeship as a young metalworker, and when i joined the trade union, which i am

still proud to be a member of, this is also where i married my wife, mary, and raised my family. my thoughts go to the fact that every member of my family, including my son of paul and daughter mary, have been cared for so well at the hospital, which over the years i have been able to campaign for on the floor of this house. of the many issues affecting my constituency, housing has been a fundamental problem. the has been exciting and rewarding that i have been able to -- it has been exciting and rewarding that i have been able to engage in the new community- based housing associations. in 30 years, their growing strength has brought me dignity and comfort to many men, women, and children who would otherwise have inadequate dwellings.

furthermore, it has sparked the growth of excellent local institutions, community halls, and sheltered housing for the elderly. as the house will appreciate, i took pride through my time as a speaker holding subsidies and taking it matters that were aboard to individual organizations and all the people of my constituency. i must record and give thanks to the support of my agent and my constituency assistant. and my lifelong friend, who helps me in london. they have always shown unfailing support in the constituency, and i am honored to have worked with them.

the constituency will always be home in every sense for me. there can be no greater honor than to bring to this house the witnesses of that experience, the privilege of representing friends, neighbors, and the values of family and community that i hold dear. to all those good people, let me say this -- i will forever be in your debt for giving me your friendship, support, and trust. i have enjoyed every day i have come into this house. it was a great honor to be invited by the speaker to join his panel. that took me to the chairmanship of the grand committee, traveling the length and breadth of scotland, burning, to the people. and then to be chairman of the

administration committee and speaker. in the year 2000, you entrusted me with a great office of speaker. i have been so happy to serve you and represent the house at home and abroad. i was honored to be the first speaker to pay an official visit to poland, a country i always hoped and prayed would be free of communism in one day. because of my political neutrality as a speaker, i must withdraw from the natural comments of this place and be a little bit isolated from the speakers house. i raise this point because i would like to thank my wife, mary, for coming to london each week when her natural instinct was to remain in her beloved belasco -- the love it glasgow.

she has always been there for support and has done so much to make speakers house that place of welcome, working on official and unofficial events. though this parliament is at its lowest ebb, i can testify to the goodness of the vast majority of members of this house. i have had the privilege during debates to witness members from every party, including minority parties, raising the problem of one's adult -- one solve constituent, perhaps experience health or social security problem. those members are using their right to question government ministers.

most strikingly, the working man has suffered, the crow effect of industrial diseases -- the cruel effect of industrial diseases, there was no shortage of members to make demands of government ministers to give these good, hard-working people compensation. members regularly acted as a group, showing tenacity when campaigning for those they represent and those who have been denied human rights in countries abroad. let us not forget that it was this parliament that achieved what seemed impossible. all the political parties of northern ireland took huge risks in setting aside their long-held differences and, in doing so, worked with all the political parties in this house, achieving a peace which has

brought harmony to northern ireland. it was a proud moment for me when i welcome to the irish to this house, in his welcome was that of that given to a friend. this was this parliament at its very best. there are those who are reminders of on wealthy moments, but i will tell of the goodness that exists in this house. i will leave this house with fond and moving memories. one of those memories is of meeting a holocaust survivor. she came to this country in 1946. after she indoor the horrors of auschwitz and a long, forced march to germany, she raised her

family in britain. she would say about this parliament, "that building gave me my freedom." she held this house in high regard for perfectly justifiable reasons. the house must worked tirelessly -- the house must work tirelessly to restore the feisty and that she saw in it. knowing you all personally, i know you will do this so the people of the united kingdom will have once again a parliamentary democracy taken regard it as the best in the world. -- they can regard as the best in the world. in the work ahead, you'll be criticized strongly, particularly from this side. take as comfort the words that roberts bonn wrote to those as the readily righteous.

then gently scan your brother man or gently sister woman so they will step aside as human. prime minister. [applause] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2009] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] >> mr. speaker, i beg to move the motion standing in my name. mr. speaker, i regard it as a great privilege that it falls to me to speak on this motion on behalf of bill toll house, we offer heartfelt thanks for your long and dedicated service to parliament. as a member of parliament, as

chair of the committee, as deputy speaker, and of course most recently, nearly nine years' service as are speaker. as is typical of you, your remarks today, you have been anxious to thank all of those who have worked with you. as is typical again of you, your concern of others is reflected in the work you have done with your wife in hosting numerous charitable events in mr. speaker's house. again today, you have and your speech by talking about the human rights and social justice for which parliament is best associated and your commitment to that as a lifelong supporter of both the rights of individuals and social justice. year-long career and your life's journey from your roots in glasgow are not easy. -- your long career and your life's journey from your roots in glasgow as a shop steward and

sheet metal worker and on to the highest office of this ancient form of democracy is an inspiring story of commitment and determination in the service of your community, partly, and this nation. let us remember how you work your way out. your father was shipwrecked three times by torpedo. his mother taught him that they had to fight for everything they won. to leave scotland at the age of 15 and rise to the house of commons tells of a man at both of unique abilities and tireless hard work. you have known better than many, mr. speaker, what is right -- what it is like to grow up in poverty and what it is like to overcome it, and through all you have been true to your principles. you are a teetotaler.

therefore, they are entirely grateful for being willing to test the whiskey. i am reminded in glasgow, 100 years ago, the labor party wants stood on a platform supporting your position of the prohibition of alcohol and decided never to stand on the platform again. [laughter] you know glasgow and having come up through politics, you know what is said about glasgow. if your a comedian there and if they like you, they deny it last -- they do not laugh, they just let you live. ask people in north glasgow who offered them comfort. when it lost their jobs and was problems with housing, troubles with schooling or troubles on the street, you'll get the same answer, it was michael martin. this house should salute the speaker who has made his constituency proud and is hailed as a friend from people of every

background come every walk of life. a speaker who was born and brought up in the city and has represented it with pride 30 years. you have brought home to thousands what you can do for people, never interested in the trappings of office but only the concerns of people you represent. this is a speaker who returned every weekend to meet the people he represented an to is never forgot where he came from, always determined to hear what they had to set. he was speaker because he worked his way up with no special privileges accorded to him and encouraged inspired young people in the same position to do the same. i think it is a fitting tribute, mr. speaker, to a longstanding commitment from a day's early on to your maiden speech in the house to work today with housing associations that is part of the program of housing and care for

those with learning disabilities that stands in glasgow today, the martin house. that is a reflection of your work in supporting employment opportunities they have worked to transform and restore an old warehouse into a city park which is a state of the art office space and has provided over 2500 jobs. perhaps it was because of your deep roots in community service that you brought your hallmark kindness, consideration, for which will be rightly remembered with affection. as i know myself and as other members in this house know, the personal concern for those of us who grief or were otherwise troubled, your notes of kind words were far beyond your duty, but i am sure tudor were just the ordinary duties of a man who cares about people. what in terms have been able to soak commonly come in, your initiative with the partnerships has enabled young

people from less privileged backgrounds to trade here and make a genuine and lasting contribution to the upkeep of this place, and then go on to careers. at every stage of your career, you have always thought first about how to extend opportunities to those denied them. you have always stood on the shoulder of the strong to make a better life for them and your families. he said in your acceptance speech in october of 2000 the family was important to you and you would endeavor to see them included in the proceedings of the house. even when you were elected speaker, it was largely due to your efforts that we provided child care in this house, and i hope you take great pride and some of the changes that have been made to modernize this house during a time, not the least of which are the new procedure for election as speaker, which we will use for the first time next week. mr. speaker, i have spoken of her love of family. notre beacon to be complete -- no tribute could be complete

without mentioning your wife and your children, whose support i know you will always be grateful. they enjoy have much to be proud of. from her nine years as speaker, 30 years of outstanding service to this house, the whole house will always be grateful to you. we hope you enjoy a long and happy retirement, and we offer you every good wishes from every side of this house and every member for the future. >> hear, hear. >> thank you, mr. speaker. it is right that the house has this opportunity to pay tribute to the service you have given. for once, i can actually say "you" while remaining in order. i share so much of what the prime minister said about your record about what you have done for the constituents, about we have done for this house. yours was a very moving speech. everyone could hear your passion about this place, and all of us who care about the house of commons, who care about

parliament, we must all deliver what we have said we would, which is to restore trust in the house of commons. it is fair to say that in quieter times, although some of your predecessors may have drawn shorter straws. seven of them are actually be headed. if you have presided over the house at a time when there has been widespread concern about the executive and a diminished word of parliament, and that was not something in your power alone to stop. that has been clear about the expenses issue. the whole house shares in its responsibility for what happened in recent weeks. as you said, it was the house as a whole which last july rejected many of the reforms put forward by the members estimates committee which you, mr. speaker, chair. as you noted, some of the proposals now being put forward to clean up this place are similar to the ones your committee recommended a year

ago. unfortunately, a consensus exists now to accept what -- fortunately, a consensus exists now to except now what they would not accept it then, and we'll have a responsibility to restore the reputation of this house. mr. speaker, you have served three decades in parliament. during that time, you have shown huge jet vacation -- you have shown a huge dedication. you have not only served as speaker but chairman of the house of commons and the speaker conference and before that chairman of committees, member of the speakers panel for over a decade, and chairman of the spanish grand committee. it is a remarkable record -- and chairman of the scottish grand committee. that is a remarkable record, starting from your time as a counselor. as the prime minister said, your life story is inspiring not just to people in this house, not just to people in glasgow, but to people up and down our country.

i know that you'll be missed usually in glasgow northeast when you step down. i'm sure both sides of the house are very much looking forward to the election. i only hope that all your constituents will be as friendly to me as you have been. [laughter] your approach to sharing debates -- i am always hopeful. your approach to sharing debates has been quiet but persuasive, your decency quite clear. we saw your decency during the debate last year, and as for your kindness, referred a few days ago to the advice he gave me when i was a new backbencher in 2001. it was typical of your approach ability to all members, but especially backbenchers, which of many personal trademark threat your time in office. the last speaker was the first woman speaker. you, mr. speaker, were the first catholic since the reformation. it is easy to overlook the change that the election of you and your immediate predecessor

signify. i was struck by one, that you made. when asked about the procedures of this place, he recalled some wise words. "always remember that things that are traditional should not be thrown out just because they are traditional, and things that are traditionally not necessarily be kept for the sake of being traditional." this is not only a good principle for the reform of the commons but every other or -- every other institution in our country as well. i would note in another interview, this time on the politics show. in that inferred via -- in that interview, he said the secret of prime minister's questions was to relax and calmed down and not get set up. that is a piece of advice i may one take. he said give them just enough rope before pulling them and,

and you like to smile at members just before you told them off. as i see your smiling now, i know it is time to bring my remarks to a close. i know and we all know that you will enjoy spending more time with your wife, mary, and your grandchildren. both on a personal level on behalf on everyone on these benches, i wish you the very best for the years ahead. >> hear, hear. >> mr. speaker, under the circumstances, it is especially generous of you to give me the opportunity to speak today, and i am grateful to you for that. i entered this house only in 2005. one of my most abiding memories of those first few weeks with your generosity to the former member. when she came despite her fragility of health to swear the help -- as were the oath of allegiance, i did not think any of us will forget the tenderness with which you stepped from the chair, against all convention, to greet her by

the dispatch box. i think it has been clear to all of us would ever differences there might be that personal kindness has been the outstanding characteristic of your time in the chair, a kindness which has infuse every word with which you just said earlier. as a newly elected party leader, remember sitting with you and not talking about politics but our families. i remember on another occasion watching you unveil a portrait of my friend. it was wonderful to listen to both of you reminisce about the journey that had taken you from almost the same area in glasgow to public service here in this parliament. mr. speaker, whatever differences there have been, you and i share a belief in the vital importance of our democracy. our political institutions have come under immense, unprecedented pressure in recent times.

the democracy remains an idea that is bigger than everyone of us, an idea that must be defended the matter the personal cost. i know, everyone here knows that you give yourself heart and soul to the job as speaker, and above all have shown us all how to temper great authority with great kindness. that will be your legacy. >> from london, you've been watching tributes to british house of commons speaker michael martin. he is stepping down after expenses scandal. a quick reminder that prime minister's questions bears live everyone's a when parliament is in session at 7:00 a.m. eastern on c-span2. you could also watch it sunday night at 9:00 eastern on c-span. for more information, check out our website, c-span.org, and click on international links. there are also links to c-span

programs on international issues. still to come, a hearing on aviation safety and the circumstances surrounding the february crash of flight 3407 in buffalo, new york. then, president obama's choice to lead the fcc. following that on "america and the courts," supreme court justice anthony kennedy delivers the commencement address at stanford university. >> every weekend, "book tv" has the latest nonfiction books and authors. on "afterwords," a