There's a certain irony in the notion that on the same day that Premier Alex Scott took a formal step towards increasing the salaries of Ministers and MPs that the House of Assembly should be the scene of the worst kind of parliamentary behaviour.

It was hardly the best way to go about seeking a raise ? many members of the general public would probably prefer to see the salaries decreased now, not improved.

Inevitably since Friday there has been a good deal of criticism back and forth between the parties.

On the one hand, the Progressive Labour Party Government is claiming that the Opposition United Bermuda Party was being irresponsible when it walked out and that it focuses only on criticism and negativity. On the other hand, the UBP is accusing the Government of flouting parliamentary procedure and of crushing free speech through its parliamentary majority and its alleged influence over the Speaker of the House.

The heart of the dispute concerns an Opposition motion (again) "deploring" the failure of Housing Minister Ashfield DeVent to consult with the residents of Alexandra Road and Mary Victoria Road over adding homes in the area.

Premier Alex Scott and Government Whip Ottiwell Simmons tried to block the motion, with Mr. Scott saying that it was his understanding that Mr. DeVent had consulted with the residents, and the motion was therefore factually incorrect. Apparently many residents, including those who led the opposition to the last set of plans to increase housing there, say they have not been consulted.

At any rate, Speaker of the House Stanley Lowe seemed to side with the Government but could not seem to explain why he was when he had already approved the motion submitted by Mr. Barritt.

Deputy Speaker Jennifer Smith made matters worse when she tried to explain that the rule book of the House of Assembly did not cover every rule and referred to "two other books ? and if the rule is not in this book, it refers to the other books".

Having thus had the situation muddied, Mr. Lowe then tried to hold a vote, but no one seemed to know what they were voting on, and soon after the UBP left, apparently in disgust.

It's hard to blame them. Certainly, Mr. Lowe, who has now been Speaker for more than seven years, should have been able to handle the situation better. Whether the mess that resulted from his actions was due to a deliberate attempt to do the Government and his party a favour or whether it was because of sheer incompetence is hard to say. Certainly, he has not come out of this episode very well.

The Speaker has a difficult job, regardless of which party is in power. Because the Speaker runs for a political party in General Election and is then required to drop his party loyalties on election to the Speaker's chair, accusations of bias are inevitable and Speakers from the UBP governments often faced the same complaints as Mr. Lowe.

But that does not excuse an inability to explain what you are doing and why, and here Mr. Lowe seems to have fallen.

He should have let the motion stand and the PLP could have amended it when it came to debate as they have done on several occasions for Mr. DeVent, who spends a good deal of time being deplored.

Whether the residents of Prospect were consulted or not clearly goes to the heart of the motion; it was for Mr. DeVent to prove had consulted as promised, not for his political master to try to save him the trouble through some neat parliamentary manoeuvring.

At any rate, before the Island's politicians decide to award themselves a raise, they should ensure they know their own rules and explain them.