MP's surprise bid for Speaker role

Gloucester MP Parmjit Dhanda threw his hat into the ring to succeed Michael Martin.

He warned that none of the leading candidates were offering sufficient change to the system.

The 37-year-old father-of-two said he would hold debates at town halls around the country, urge law changes to massively boost the number of ethnic minority and female MPs, curb the powers of party whips and make Parliament more parent-friendly.

Mr Dhanda, who bemoaned the lack of ministers with Indian roots when he was sacked in a reshuffle last year, has written an email to all MPs setting out his stall ahead of the June 22 election.

Tory John Bercow is the bookies' favourite to win the vote among MPs when Mr Martin, who announced last month he would step down amid anger over his handling of the Westminster expenses scandal, leaves the role.

Other frontrunners include fellow Conservative Sir George Young, Labour ex-minister Frank Field and Liberal Democrat Sir Alan Beith.

In his email, Mr Dhanda admits that he is not "an obvious choice", but told MPs: "Until I see someone more likely to win who will fight for the causes I spell out here, I'll be in this contest.

"Parliament is in crisis. Just a few days ago we saw the election of two members of the BNP to the European Parliament. But I don't believe that the British people are racist," he said.

"It's too late for evolution and time for us to be brave. I believe that if we firmly shift the pendulum of power back to the public they are more likely to put their trust in us again. To put these changes in place we will need a Speaker who is comfortable in, and able to communicate with, modern Britain."