Extraordinary scenes

What happened in the chamber?

Sir Lindsay Hoyle is facing calls to quit after an extraordinary day which saw the Commons descend into chaos.

The Speaker enraged the Tories and the SNP by going against official advice to controversially select a Labour amendment. His decision got Sir Keir Starmer out of a huge hole, but it sparked a constitutional crisis with the Conservatives and the Scottish National Party storming out in protest. The row erupted after SNP used one of its opposition days to table a motion calling for an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza.

Its move caused huge problems for Sir Keir, who suffered a massive revolt last November when 56 MPS defied his orders and backed a truce. Labour and the Tories both tabled amendments to the original

SNP motion, leaving Sir Lindsay with the task of choosing which to pick.

Convention stated he should select the Government one, but he tore up the rule book and chose both to give MPS “the widest possible range of options”.

What did the Labour amendment say?

Labour’s amendment marked a big shift in position, calling for both an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire” and an “immediate stop to the fighting”.

But it balanced that out by stipulating that a truce must be conditional on Hamas laying down its weapons and returning the hostages it took on Oct 7. The text stated that a ceasefire must be “observed by all sides” and “Israel cannot be expected to cease fighting if Hamas

continues with violence”. Sir Keir also added a sweetener for his MPS, saying Israel should not be able to block the “inalienable right” of Palestinians to their own state.

What did SNP motion say? The original motion tabled by the SNP was shorter and contained fewer caveats around the conditions attached to a truce.

It called for an “immediate ceasefire in Gaza and Israel” and accused Israel of attacking “what is now the largest refugee camp in the world”.

The motion did call on Hamas to return all the hostages but did not directly reference Oct 7.

What did the Tory amendment say?

The Government’s amendment did not go as far as either in that it did not call for an immediate ceasefire. It supported “moves towards a permanent sustainable ceasefire” but made clear that could only happen once Hamas was removed from power.

It proposed “negotiations to agree an immediate humanitarian pause as the best way to stop the fighting and to get aid in and hostages out”.

The Tory amendment specifically backed “Israel’s right to self-defence” and condemned the “slaughter, abuse and gender-based violence” of Oct 7.

Who prevailed upon the Speaker?

Sir Keir Starmer personally approached Sir Lindsay in order to persuade him to select the Labour amendment, telling the Speaker that emotions were running high. However, the Clerk of the House of Commons told Sir Lindsay he was not following “long-established conventions”.

Sir Lindsay admitted he was departing from the norm against his clerk’s advice, but described Parliament’s procedures as “outdated”.

What did Sir Lindsay Hoyle decide?

Faced with the dilemma of having to choose, Sir Lindsay upended convention to select both.

Explaining his decision, he said the war in Gaza was a “highly sensitive subject” and MPS deserved “to consider the widest possible range of options”.

Why was it controversial? Tory MPS felt he had been cajoled into making it to help Sir Keir out of a political mess.

Conservatives accused him of making a “blatantly partisan” call in favour of Labour and said he had undermined their confidence in his impartiality.

But the SNP was equally enraged and said his decision meant he had effectively hijacked its opposition day to accommodate Sir Keir.

How did the Tories react?

There was uproar in the chamber even as Sir Lindsay was announcing his decision, with one MP shouting at him that he was “moving the goalposts”.

Penny Mordaunt, the Leader of the Commons, announced the Tories were pulling their amendment in protest.

She told the chamber that, as a result of Sir Lindsay’s decision, the Government did “not have confidence that it will be able to vote on its own motion”. Tory MPS then walked out of the Chamber.

Why were the SNP so angry?

The SNP challenged Sir Lindsay’s decision with chief whip Owen Thompson asking: “What is the point of an opposition day if it’s going to be done like this?”

The pulling of the Government amendment meant the original SNP motion would not be voted on at all if Labour’s amendment was passed.

That enraged the Scottish party which, along with Conservative MPS, staged a walkout from the Commons in protest at how the situation had been handled.

Why was there a vote to sit in private and how unusual is that?

William Wragg, the Tory MP, proposed the Commons sit in private. It is understood Mr Wragg believed if the debate was delayed enough, all the motions would be dropped.

If the Commons sits in private, it means Hansard is not produced and public and press galleries are cleared.

The House last sat in private in 2001 to debate the Anti Terrorism, Crime and Security Bill. MPS voted against sitting in private.

How did Sir Lindsay respond?

He had not been in the chamber all afternoon, but later returned and said: “I was very concerned, I am still concerned and that’s why the meetings I’ve had today [were] about the security of members, their families, and the people that are involved. I regret how it’s ended up. But it was not my intention.”