Ewan Crawford: This 'Gorbals Mick' prejudice obscures Martin's real failure

The endless profiles of the outgoing House of Commons Speaker, Michael Martin, have demonstrated the power of city clichs.

In characterising Mr Martin, writers rarely missed the opportunity to mention the city of his birth – not so much as a geographical reference, but so the reader could understand his humble background. Glasgow equals poor, and probably uneducated, was the message.

The Speaker, we were told, was a "Glaswegian former sheet-metal worker". It clearly was not enough just to refer to his occupation; the city of Glasgow was also required to paint a full picture of his class origins. If Mr Martin had been born in the capital, it seems unlikely Edinburgh would have been so prominent in his biography.

There's an interesting contrast here between the Speaker and the man tipped to succeed Gordon Brown as Labour leader – Westminster Health Secretary Alan Johnson.

Mr Johnson is often described as an ex-postman, but rarely as Londoner ex-postman (his place of birth) or Slough ex-postman (where he first used to deliver letters). Unlike Glasgow, it seems London or Slough don't quite cut it when a low-income background needs to be emphasised.

The most stupid and inaccurate jibe aimed at the Glasgow North East MP has been the "Gorbals Mick" insult. This neatly embraces both ignorance and prejudice but does the intended job of maintaining the stereotype.

The Daily Telegraph columnist (and former editor of this newspaper) Iain Martin criticised one of the Speaker's defenders, Jim Sheridan, for behaving during an interview on the Today programme in a way that was "appropriate for a 'square go' in Glasgow but hardly what middle Britain wants to hear over its muesli".

Note how Glasgow is depicted as a place where people fight rather than listen to Radio 4.

The reality is, of course, that, like all cities, the picture is mixed. I was fortunate to grow up in the New Town of Edinburgh, and I now live in an equally attractive area in the south side of Glasgow.

The issue, then, is not uniform poverty but scandalous inequality. There are parts of Glasgow that are clearly wealthy, but there are other areas of the city that give credence to the insults.

That is the real reason to criticise Michael Martin – that he and his Labour colleagues have presided over levels of unemployment and deprivation that are shameful.

Indeed, it seems bizarre that Mr Martin has been brought down by incompetence in the House of Commons but thrived by representing an area that his party, Labour, helped to turn into one of the most deprived in the country.

The expenses scandal that has unfolded over the past two weeks has been shocking. For those like me, who defend the motivation of most people who want to become elected representatives, it has not been the easiest of fortnights.

There is something odd in our national priorities, though, when Esther Rantzen and others feel driven to stand against party politicians because of how much they spend on their TVs, but are not similarly moved by the sort of conditions in which too many of Mr Martin's constituents are forced to live.

Ewan Crawford is programme leader, graduate diploma in broadcast journalism, at the University of the West of Scotland. He was private secretary to John Swinney when he was leader of the SNP.