It looks like the Michael Martin’s strategy of hiding behind the Prime Minister has failed.

Over the weekend, Brown stated that the issue of the Speaker was a matter for the commons, not the Government.

Yesterday Martin bounced the issue back to the Government, putting his fate firmly into Brown’s hands.

Today, after meeting with all the Party Leaders, Brown appears to have been put into a position where he knew he couldn’t protect the speaker (by simply refusing to allow the debate to happen). Clegg had made it clear that the Lib Dems would use an opposition day debate, if necessary. The stink surrounding the Speaker would have been smeared all over Brown too.

So the Speaker’s resigning, it seems. And the Spectator, the ones that wondered aloud if Clegg should publically demand the Speaker should go follows up now by telling its readers that Cameron missed a trick by not being publically involved with this, that Clegg’s stolen a march.

As much as it looked like a trap, turns out it wasn’t.