The most senior official in Britain's House of Commons has announced he will resign on June 21st after criticism of his handling of a scandal over MPs' expenses.
"In order that unity can be maintained, I have decided that I will relinquish the office of speaker on Sunday, June 21," Michael Martin told parliament this afternoon.
A new speaker will be elected the following day, he said.
Mr Martin, the first speaker to be ousted in more than 300 years, is the most senior casualty of a row over legislators' expenses that has triggered public outrage across Britain and opposition calls for an early general election.
Conservative opposition leader David Cameron, who is well ahead in the opinion polls before a parliamentary election due by June 2010, said a "very angry" public was more concerned about having an early chance to vote than the choice of speaker.
"They want to elect a new parliament," he told BBC radio. "Their view is that swapping one person in a funny black costume for another funny black costume is not actually going to make all the difference." Newspapers called for his resignation today.
"Speaker Martin must go," the Guardian newspaper said in an editorial, while the Times said: "Next Speaker, Please", accusing Mr Martin of an "exhibition of the inadequacy of the current parliament".
It remains to be seen if the departure of the speaker quells public anger over the scandal or adds to the momentum for parliament to be dissolved and a general election held.
Prime minister Gordon Brown is certain to resist calls for an early election.
Mr Brown has called for fundamental reform of the expenses system to try to defuse a scandal that has damaged all the main political parties but is hitting his own Labour Party hardest after 12 years in power.
A poll published today showed that most members of Mr Brown's own party think he should step down. Six out of 10 of those polled by the independent Labour website LabourList.org said the party must have a new leader before the election.
Health secretary Alan Johnson, a former trade union leader, is the favourite to replace Mr Brown, according to the poll.
A poll for the Guardiannewspaper put Labour down two points on 28 per cent and the Conservatives down one point on 39 per cent.
Political leaders are keenly aware that the main parties are rapidly losing support, and fear voters may register their unhappiness with the major parties by voting for fringe parties in next local and European elections on June 4th.
Support for the smaller parties, such as the anti-European Union UK Independence Party and far-right British National Party, rose by nine points compared with the previous month.