Ministers told to cut the waffle

Wordy ministers were ordered by Michael Martin, the Commons Speaker, to cut the waffle yesterday because parliamentary debates had become "disappointingly slow". He rebuked them for liking the sound of their own voices. And he made clear, when opening Commons proceedings, that he was prepared to order them to get to the point, whatever their seniority.

Mr Martin, in a personal statement, said: "In the first session of this Parliament, progress at question time was disappointingly slow. I expect questions to be sharp and to the point, no long preambles, one member, one question, ministerial answers no longer than a single printed paragraph of modest length in Hansard [official record of Parliament].

"Ministers in charge of departments and leading opposition frontbench spokesmen have been some of the worst offenders and I ask them to set a good example to their colleagues." He said he had a duty to act to improve daily question-and-answer sessions.