Reform ahead as Speaker steps down
Commons Speaker Michael Martin is to announce his resignation to MPs - in a move expected to pave the way for a radical reform of parliament.
Speaker Martin's dramatic gesture comes just 24 hours after he was publicly humiliated by a string of MPs calling in the Commons for him to quit.
He has become the highest-profile victim of the Westminster expenses scandal.
A spokeswoman for the Speaker said: "I can confirm that the Speaker is making a statement this afternoon and that it is about himself."
Mr Martin will go ahead later with his meeting with party leaders, including Gordon Brown, to discuss the expenses debacle.
Senior Labour MP Sir Stuart Bell, a member of the House of Commons Commission and a close ally of Mr Martin, said the Speaker was determined to push through radical change before he stepped down.
"He is determined to see through the reforms that he announced yesterday (Monday)," he told BBC News.
"I can tell you the Cabinet this morning will approve a series of reforms which will place the House of Commons in the hands of independent regulators rather than the House itself.
"The nature of the role of the Speaker will change. There will no longer be a Speaker who is in charge as chief executive. He will be procedural and ceremonial."
Mr Brown's spokesman confirmed that the Cabinet discussed "the reform of parliament" as well as arrangements governing expenses at its regular meeting.
