Someone had to get the boot. Every scandal has a scapegoat and because this was some cross party effrey it was hard to tell who was going to get the boot when it began to hit the fan a couple of weekends ago.

But it soon became clear. Ever since Nick Clegg called for his head last weekend it's been increasingly obvious that speaker Michael Martin was either going to go quietly or be dragged out kicking and screaming. Even better, the strange situation that has seen the electorate doing something that resembles calling the shots doesn't seem to be going away. Will the proposed reforms be enough to stop the bad feeling, and more importantly, the terrible headlines? It could well b that this one isn’t quite over yet. At a time when most people are facing financial hardships, they may not be so ready to forgive.

Still, you have to feel at least a tiny bit sorry for Mr. Martin. He's done some dodgy things for sure, such as trying to stop the initial Freedom of Information requests, but all the other wrongdoers are sticking it out for as long as they can and seeing what they can do to save their skins and careers. Yeah, he's easily as shiesty as the worst of them. But his useless pleas for the 'order' that is meant to accompany parliamentary discussion made him look really pathetic on Monday afternoon.

This could end being a minor good look for The Liberal Democrats, the party that would easily win an election if anyone thought they had a chance of winning an election. If they could somehow make themselves appear even a little bit likely to win - if they got rid of the probably true perception that a vote for them is a wasted vote - then the electorate wouldn't have to make this rock and a hard place choice between Brown and Cameron (Brown everytime btw)

It would also make the extreme parties a less attractive choice. Various politicians from all parties have tried the 'if you get rid of us, they're all that's left' routine during the last week when it really began to look bad for them. True, some will go to the darkside far right, but what about the people that will go the other way? Has there been any scary pronouncements predicting increased support for The Green Party? There will be just as many defections in that direction as there will be in the other.

Which brings us back to the Lib Dems. They are the only established party that could actually benefit from this whole mess. If Nick Clegg, who has been toiling extra hard to escape Vince Cable's shadow, could continue to stay at the forefront of the agenda then you never know. His calls for investigations into party funding and other Whitehall evils during Prime Minister's Questions may just manage that. It may just resonate with voters who will hopefully see Cameron's call for a General Election as the opportunism that it is. He's obviously a lot more concerned with becoming Prime Minister than anything else.

This is not to say they Lib Dems would be any better than Labour or The Conservatives were they actually to miraculously win the next election. But it would shake up the system something terrible, and give the voter genuine choice.

And what's this about Esther Rantzen? It's difficult to tell whether she's genuinely about the politics or the opportunity. If she's anything like the majority of MP's, especially Cameron, it's obviously the latter. To be fair however, That's Life was always about helping the wronged masses. Her claims about a background as an investigative journalist also stand up to scrutiny. Martin Bell is working with her and that's a good co-sign.
Last but not least, massive massive big ups to all the young filmmakers who had their work shown at the Ctrl.Alt.Shift premiere last week. Edutainment at its best.

Words: Russell Myrie.