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Added: Wednesday, 20 May, 2009, 15:18 GMT 16:18 UK

Yes the speaker is right to stand down, but what about all the guilt MPs as well; they are trying to hid behind repayments and so called following the rules. No wonder with this level of integrity Blair could get away with taking us to war with Weapons of mass destruction and 45min rubbish, and they keep misleading us with nonsense about ID cards protecting us from terrorists etc. They should all lose right to "honourable" tag and the worse cases should be voted out.

larry Young, Glasgow

Added: Wednesday, 20 May, 2009, 15:15 GMT 16:15 UK

Why can't Westminster have contracts with some of the budget Hotel chains for MP's accommodation when attending Parliament?
Why has Westminster not appointed a fully independant Bursar to control the parliamentary expenses budget?
Is there a finite budget for the whole of MP's expenses set by a select committee? If there is can they be held responsible?
If there isn't who decides how much tax payers money to set aside each year or is the budget run like nationalised organisations of old?

David

Added: Wednesday, 20 May, 2009, 15:07 GMT 16:07 UK

I think the speaker was right to go but he MUST'NT be made a scapegoat for the guilty MP's who were 'bending' the rules so much they almost snapped! I have no doubt that most of the so-called fury of MP's was motivated by deflecting blame off them and onto the speaker.

Also in the heat of all this it's very important that we don't allow MP's to try and pull the wool over the electorate's eyes by watering down expenses but voting in a massive pay-rise later for themselves to make amend's.

F West

Added: Wednesday, 20 May, 2009, 15:05 GMT 16:05 UK

Surely Harriet means she will end the "gentlepersons club"

neil law

Added: Wednesday, 20 May, 2009, 15:04 GMT 16:04 UK

If a policeman caught one of us in the middle of a burglary and we simply blamed the system would we get away with theft??? Once again MPs live up to their image of lying, deceiptful criminals..

Samantha Walker, Glasgow

Added: Wednesday, 20 May, 2009, 14:59 GMT 15:59 UK

I respect him for having done the right thing &, I am sure, many others do. For once, he has acted as a leader & I hope the rest of the MPs will, if they have something unsavoury to declare, follow the honourable example he has set.

ian cheese, london, United Kingdom

Added: Wednesday, 20 May, 2009, 14:42 GMT 15:42 UK

Yes he did the only right thing available to him, but he took too long about it. Now the MPs who abused their position should resign, and the honest core which is left should form a coalition government to fill the gap until new MPs can be installed, then we have a general election. The government should have no say at all on the structure of the new expenses system, and there can not be any mortgage assistance included in it. One of those empty tower blocks of flats in London could house them.

raYMOND FACCENDA, edinburgh

Added: Wednesday, 20 May, 2009, 14:38 GMT 15:38 UK

Isn't it time we questioned the whole parliamentary set up? And even their right to rule over us? Why do we continue with a group of people and an institution that fails either through corruption, or incompetence .
We HAVE the right to turn our backs on this failure and seek solutions to running our communities in ways we choose, rather than bowing to a parliament whose control over us is backed up by forces (we pay for) which they would - and sometimes do - unleash on us without hesitation.

Duncan, Hastings

Added: Wednesday, 20 May, 2009, 14:27 GMT 15:27 UK

Our unelected Prime Minister has declared that Westminster cannot act like a "gentlemans' club". Perhaps that's the core of the problem, because if they were gentlemen (or ladies) they wouldn't have behaved like this in the first place. MPs just don't see that it's about honour and integrity. Paying money back that you shouldn't have had in the first place? It must have taken real courage for Speaker Martin to face his hypocritical critics yesterday, despite them leaving him no other choice.

Sheena Hunter-Hedges, Exeter

Added: Wednesday, 20 May, 2009, 14:11 GMT 15:11 UK

No one is under any illusions about Martin being made a scapegoat.

What is disgusting is the way in which these MPs are saying that they have done nothing wrong!

Whilst not braking the rules, which they made in the first place, the fact is that they have been caught milking the system for all that it is worth and are each trying to worm their way out of it.

All those found to have bent the rules or milked the system should go now.

David, Frodsham

Added: Wednesday, 20 May, 2009, 14:07 GMT 15:07 UK

i think any mp that has been found to be in breach of decent conduct with regards to expenses should be deselected, it is the only way that confidence can be restored.

khal, essex

Added: Wednesday, 20 May, 2009, 14:06 GMT 15:06 UK

I think they all should go, we need a new set, with morals, they live in the real world. Know the value of money, but would it just be a case of as George Orwell put it "all animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others"

MPs salary increase should linked to inflation it was good enough for the pensioners

[ragertyann], Derbyy, United Kingdom

Added: Wednesday, 20 May, 2009, 13:42 GMT 14:42 UK

The interim arrangements are a step in the right direction, but why is mortgage interest still funded? Only rent should be allowed, because an MP is only an MP till the next Election, and there's no case whatever for getting the taxpayer to foot the bill for borrowing money long-term. If mortgage interest is allowed, profit on subsequent sale (even if it's long after the MP has left Parliament) must be shared with the taxpayer, taking account of the public subsidy and our share of the risk.

[deanarabin], London, United Kingdom

Added: Wednesday, 20 May, 2009, 13:38 GMT 14:38 UK

any member of the public would have been charged for fraud
why is mr martin the only person with enough stomach to step down.
yes he has done wrong but so have many others
all should get a criminal record like any member of the public would.
it is not fair to just use him as a scapegoat for everyone else.
take tax credits for example the goverment overpays people but they have to pay it back with no warning .
what makes mp s different
concered tax payer.

kevin coulstock, dundee scotland

Added: Wednesday, 20 May, 2009, 13:37 GMT 14:37 UK

This expenses scandal is a cross-party matter. It is not confined to the party in government - they are all at it. They should all be sacked and a new parliament elected and the new crowd should also follow new rules on expenses.

Someone else has already said, the country is struggling to make ends meet and yet MPs have been ripping the people off like this for years.

Roy Brookes, Hamburg, Germany