New voice of the Commons
Sir Lindsay Hoyle pays emotional tribute to late daughter in acceptance speech as he pledges to make Commons the envy of the world again
Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the Labour MP, was last night elected Commons Speaker. Addressing the House from the chair, John Bercow’s former deputy paid tribute to his daughter, Natalie, who took her own life two years ago
SIR LINDSAY HOYLE, the Labour MP, was last night elected as the new Speaker of the House of Commons and immediately pledged to polish away the “tarnish” left by John Bercow, his predecessor.
Sir Lindsay promised to restore “transparency and impartiality” to the role as he told MPS that the Commons would “change for the better” on his watch.
In an emotional acceptance speech, Sir Lindsay, who won a run-off against fellow Labour MP Chris Bryant by 325 votes to 213, also paid tribute to his late daughter Natalie, who was found hanged in her bedroom two years ago.
He said the 28-year-old was “everything to all of us” as he spoke of his regret that she could not share the moment with him, adding: “I wish she’d have been here ... she will always be missed, but she will always be in our thoughts.”
Sir Lindsay, the Labour MP for Chorley, Lancs, since 1997, is only guaranteed the job for 24 hours, as a new election for Speaker takes place at the beginning of each Parliament. The Commons will be dissolved for the general election at midnight tonight, but
Sir Lindsay will be expected to return unopposed after the election.
The 62-year-old Lancastrian was chosen by MPS after he promised in a hustings speech to be “accountable” and ensure “fairness” in the Commons.
During his nine years as deputy speaker under John Bercow, Sir Lindsay got to know the outgoing Speaker better than most, and noticeably failed to pay tribute to him either before or after taking the chair.
After being “dragged” to the Speaker’s chair by Nigel Evans, the Tory MP, and Labour’s Caroline Flint, following an age-old tradition that speakers should be reluctant to take the job, Sir Lindsay left no doubt about his opinion of Mr Bercow’s tenure. He said: “I hope this House will be once again a great respected House, not just in here but across the world. It’s the envy, and we’ve got to make sure that tarnish is polished away, that the respect and tolerance that we expect from everyone who works in here will be shown and we’ll keep that in order.”
Sir Lindsay won the backing of scores of Tory MPS who think he will provide a level of impartiality that they believe was missing during Mr Bercow’s tenure. Mr Bercow was repeatedly accused of being biased, particularly towards the Remain side when helping to steer Brexit votes through the Commons.
Mr Bercow was also accused of a lack of transparency over the processing of bullying and harassment claims, which are dealt with by a committee overseen by the Speaker. Speakers must be politically impartial, meaning Sir
‘I hope that this House will be once again a great respected House, not just in here but across the world’