Field backs Widdecombe for speaker

The race for speaker will grab our attention on Monday and Frank Field who himself withdrew from the race is backing rather strangely Ann Widdecombe in the Telegraph this morning.

His rational is that after the events of the last few weeks,the next holder of the position has to be whiter than white

I am well aware that she has drawbacks. But she has two advantages that none of the other candidates possess. She is whiter than white on the expenses front – and she is the one person who finds it easy to talk to the mass audience outside the House of Commons.

and adds that

in the year between now and when she retires, she is the candidate most likely to be able to re-establish a political bridgehead with our electorates. A cleaned-up Parliament will therefore be able to elect a new Speaker. She is also the only candidate under whom MPs know they won't be able to get away with some of the behaviour – let alone the excesses – that has been offered up by our expenses system.

You know he may just be right