Ladbrokes Accepts Bets on Speaker Replacement

The great thing about online betting is that it offers something for everyone, not just sports fans. Visit any reputable online sportsbook and you can bet on all sorts of current 'happenings', from when Britney Spears will have her next meltdown to who will become the next Speaker of The House of Commons.

Leading UK betting website, Ladbrokes, has for instance started a betting line on who will replace the UK's recently ousted...er.. retired Speaker of The House of Commons, Michael Martin. It seems that Martin was forced to quit his prestigious position over the shocking way he handled the MP's expenses scandal.

The MP's expenses scandal broke earlier this month, revealing that many already well-remunerated MPs (from both sides of the House of Commons) were claiming for ridiculous items from pet food, to the upkeep of country cottages, so swimming pool repair, to the cleaning of 'moats' to making mortgage payments.

But that's politics. And as Heidi Klum, host of Bravo TV's hit show Project Runway, would say; 'One day you're in, and the next you're out'. So the next question is who will replace Martin as Speaker of The House of Commons. For those not well-versed in British politics, Ladbrokes has some clear ideas and odds.

Before we reveal them, however, you may be interested to know that some of the 'nominees' have also been caught up in the MP's expenses scandal, and it is more than likely that those naughty MP's caught with their sticky hands stuck inside the tax-payer's cookie jar will be closer to the bottom of the list than the top.

Here are the latest odds from Ladbrokes of who will succeed Michael Martin as the Speaker of The House of Commons:

John Bercow - 3/1
Frank Field - 5/1
Sir George Young - 11/2
Sir Alan Beith - 7/1
Richard Shepherd - 14/1
Sylvia Heal - 14/1
Richard Taylor - 16/1
Sir Michael Lord - 16/1
Vince Cable - 16/1
Ann Widdecombe - 20/1
David Davis - 20/1
Sir Alan Haselhurst - 20/1
Sir Malcolm Rifkind - 20/1
Sir Menzies Campbell - 20/1
Sir Patrick Cormack - 20/1
Jack Straw - 25/1
Ken Clarke - 25/1
Tony Wright - 25/1
Andrew MacKinlay - 33/1
Chris Mullin - 33/1
Edward Garnier - 33/1
Kate Hoey - 33/1
Sir John Butterfill - 33/1
Stephen Pound - 40/1
Damian Green - 50/1
Jacqui Lait - 50/1
Alan Williams - 66/1
John Mann - 66/1
Keith Simpson - 66/1
Norman Baker - 66/1
Roger Gale - 66/1
Dennis Skinner - 100/1
Diane Abbot - 100/1
Dawn Butler - 200/1
Nick Palmer - 200/1
Gordon Brown - 250/1

For our money, Richard Shepherd, Jack Straw and Sir Michael Lord look like the most likely candidates. Don't bother even considering Gordon Brown as the 250/1 longshot; he already has his hands full trying to keep the UK from sinking even further into the economic quagmire that has the UK in its grip.