AS we said yesterday, Michael Martin could not continue as Speaker if the House of Commons were to stand a chance of rebuilding its reputation.

He had failed to fully appreciate the seriousness of the crisis unfolding all around him and, as the figurehead of the Commons, it was inevitable that he would have to be replaced.

But, as we also said yesterday, Mr Martin’s resignation would not be enough to quell public outrage over the MPs’ expenses scandal.

A new Speaker will be elected in due course, but the cleansing of the House of Commons requires much more than that.

Not surprisingly, Tory leader David Cameron has proposed a general election as the answer, but he has also challenged constituency parties to carry out fresh selection processes if they are dissatisfied with their MPs.

Meanwhile, Gordon Brown has declared that any Labour MP found to have “defied the rules” over expenses will not be allowed to stand at the next general election.

What is needed now, as part of a root and branch clear-out to go with last night’s new rules on expenses, is an agreement by all parties to put all MPs through a re-selection process.

That way, we could go into a general election knowing that all MPs had been scrutinised by their constituency parties before going before the electorate.

It may be an extreme step, but the shattered world of politics needs to be seen to be bending over backwards to reassure voters that everything possible has been done to wipe the slate clean.