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The son of Michael Martin has today declared he has no interest in succeeding his father as the MP for Glasgow North East.

This came as Mr Martin's short-term future was increasingly in jeopardy after both main opposition parties made it clear that they no longer had confidence in him.

Paul Martin, a member of the Scottish Parliament, was reported to have been offered the seat as part of a deal to force his father to stand down early from Westminster. But today allies of Mr Martin have ruled this out, saying he has no intention of standing as an MP, and does not need the patronage of his father.

Sources close to Paul Martin, MSP for Glasgow Springburn, said that he would entirely rule out a move to Westminster. They said that Mr Martin jr enjoys the Scottish Parliament and would find Westminster frustrating.

One source said: "You have to make choices in life and Paul has made his. He has a young family and wants to see them every day, something he couldn't do if he was at Westminster."

"In any case he doesn't need his Dad to further his political career because he has a very good reputation in that constituency anyway. He has got no ambition to go to Westminster. There is no way he is going to London."

The Speaker's career remains in the balance however, after Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrat, joined David Cameron in suggesting he no longer had confidence in Mr Martin.

In a surprise late night interview on BBC Radio 5 Live, Mr Clegg said: "People's confidence in him has taken a massive battering and with very good reason because he is responsible for the people who took the decision to allow the police - without a warrant - to search Damian Green's office, and clearly he has got a lot of work to do to re-establish the trust and confidence without which he really can't do his job.

“But I do think MPs will be making a big mistake if they somehow suggest to people that just by sticking a knife in the Speaker's back everything is sorted."

Mr Cameron also failed to give the Speaker his backing yesterday.

“I want to have the confidence that we should all have in the Speaker’s office and in the Speaker, and that needs to be put right,” he said. Asked if he had that confidence at the moment, Mr Cameron told the BBC: “I want to have that confidence.”

Neither the Tories nor Liberal Democrats want Mr Martin to stand down immediately, preferring him to remain until the next election, when Labour no longer has a majority.

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