Michael Martin is expected widely by MPs in all parties to stand down at the next election, after it became clear that he had lost the confidence of the House.

The Speaker’s office confirmed yesterday that he would listen to the views of the House when deciding whether to attempt to stand again.

The growing momentum behind moves to prevent Mr Martin seeking another term as Speaker became apparent on the day a febrile House of Commons debated the fallout from the arrest of Damian Green. Late on Sunday night Nick Clegg joined David Cameron in refusing to support Mr Martin “because a monumental mistake was made”.

Charles Clarke, the former Home Secretary, made clear that Labour MPs were unhappy with Mr Martin because of his decision to blame Jill Pay, the Serjeant at Arms, for allowing police in. “I think there is widespread concern about whether he does have that confidence at the moment, and I think the statement last week certainly didn’t help in any way,” he said.

Frank Dobson, the former Health Secretary, implicitly criticised the Speaker during the debate by saying that there had been failings on “every side”. Although he did not name the Speaker — which could be ruled out of order by Mr Martin — he said that most of those involved in the case did not emerge with “much credit”.

Senior Labour figures privately are making it clear that after the next election he should take up his place in the Lords, an automatic right for any former Speaker. The Tories, however, recognise that they are now in an awkward position after Mr Cameron’s public failure to back Mr Martin. They do not want to force him out now, fearing that Labour’s majority might mean a third Labour Speaker in a row.

Senior figures on all sides now appear to accept that a wounded Mr Martin would be allowed to limp on until the general election. “Any other Speaker would have gone, but Martin is rhinoceros-skinned,” a leading Tory said.

A spokeswoman for Mr Martin’s office reiterated yesterday that he would take soundings before the next election. “The Speaker has always made very clear he listens to his two constituencies and he will continue as long as they want him to continue,” she said.

Moves to overhaul the rules on police entering Parliament descended into farce last night after both Tories and Liberal Democrats withdrew from a proposed Speaker’s committee that would examine the regulations. This followed attempts by Sir Menzies Campbell and other senior figures to overturn restrictions on the committee’s remit set down by Harriet Harman, the Leader of the House. She has insisted that the committee would not be allowed to start discussions until the police inquiry had concluded.

The motion by Sir Menzies was defeated by 285 to 281, a big victory for Nick Brown and other Labour whips, who worked frantically to prevent a large rebellion. The 29 Labour rebels were mostly leftwingers, with the exception of Mr Clarke, Tony Wright, Keith Vaz and Denis McShane.

Preliminary rules governing when Mr Martin would grant entry to police in future, released yesterday, also sparked controversy. They appear to put MPs above the law, by giving him huge discretion to turn away the police if he feels they are on a “fishing expedition” or could get the information elsewhere.

Mr Martin’s son, Paul Martin, made clear yesterday that he would not be part of any plot to force out his father by taking up his seat at Westminster. It was claimed in The Daily Telegraph that the Speaker had agreed to stand down if his son was guaranteed to be the candidate for his Glasgow seat.

Friends of Mr Martin Jr, an MSP at Holyrood, have told The Times that for personal and political reasons he has no intention of going to Westminster. “Paul feels that he has made his own reputation locally as an MSP and that if he wanted the seat at Westminster, he could go for it and get it. He doesn’t have to rely on his father,” one close friend said.

Labour officials in Scotland are believed to feel that any such arrangement could threaten the party’s majority in the constituency.

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