PM ‘concerned’ over vote as MPS vow to oust Hoyle
Starmer denies he forced Speaker into amendment as at least 67 sign motion of no confidence
RISHI SUNAK has said he found the chaotic scenes in the House of Commons, prompted by the Speaker on Wednesday, “very concerning” as SNP and Tory MPS attempted to force a vote of no confidence in Sir Lindsay Hoyle.
In his first intervention after the Gaza debate, the Prime Minister said the usual process of the House had been changed but he understood Sir Lindsay had apologised.
Some 67 MPS – one in 10 of the total – had signed a motion declaring no confidence in Sir Lindsay by last night with his future still hanging in the balance.
The Commons Speaker admitted he had been “wrong” to break convention and allow a Labour amendment on their ceasefire stance to be voted on before that of the SNP.
Sir Keir, the Labour leader, “categorically” denied he had threatened the Speaker when seeing him in person to plead for the Labour amendment to be selected
Stephen Flynn, the SNP leader in the Commons, and Tory rebels, seeking to oust Sir Lindsay yesterday, escalated matters by calling for a vote of no confi dence in him. But there were signs of the Government moving to protect the Speaker, with insiders indicating they were not minded to use government time to grant such a vote.
Cabinet ministers including Penny Mordaunt, the Commons Leader, Grant Shapps, the Defence Secretary, and Michael Gove, the Communities Secretary, also gave him verbal support.
The Prime Minister gave his own views on the Gaza votes controversy in a short broadcast interview yesterday.
During a visit to North Wales, Mr Sunak said: “What happened in the House of Commons last night is very concerning.
“It seems that the usual processes and the way that the House of Commons works were changed. Now my understanding is that the Speaker has apologised for that and is going to reflect on what happened.”
Mr Sunak continued: “The important point here is that we should never let extremists intimidate us into changing the way in which Parliament works.
“Parliament is an important place for us to have these debates. And just because some people may want to stifle that with intimidation or aggressive behaviour, we should not bend to that and change how Parliament works. That’s a very slippery slope.”
The row broke out on Wednesday when the SNP had planned to use an opposition day debate to force a vote on their motion calling for an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza.
Labour had tabled an amendment laying out their own position, which called for “immediate humanitarian ceasefire”, but noted Hamas must release hostages for peace to return.
Sir Lindsay’s break with convention by allowing the Labour amendment to be voted on first, and so changing the SNP motion’s wording if it passed, led to the controversy, which saw Tory and SNP MPS storm out of the Commons.
Yesterday, the Speaker again apologised and said concerns about the targeting of MPS over how they voted on the issue were at the forefront of his mind. Sir Lindsay said he had made a “wrong decision”, saying: “I made a mistake, we do make mistakes. I own up to mine.”
He added: “I will defend every member in this House. Every member matters to me in this House.
“And it has been said, both sides, I never, ever want to go through a situation where I pick up a phone to find a friend of whatever side has been murdered by a terrorist.
“I also don’t want another attack on this House. I was in the chair on that day [of the terror attack in 2017]. I have seen, I have witnessed.”
The apology was not enough for the SNP’S Stephen Flynn, who, after holding talks with the Speaker, said he wanted him gone.
William Wragg, the Tory chairman of the public administration and constitutional affairs committee, who drafted the early day motion declaring no confidence in Sir Lindsay, also made clear he wanted a vote on the matter.
But Ms Mordaunt, the Commons Leader, softened her tone, calling him a “decent man” and turning her rhetorical fire on the Labour leader.
Speaker’s apology Sir Lindsay reiterates his regret
Wednesday night
I am honest to this House, I am true to this House, I believe in all members of this House and I have tried to do what I thought was the right thing for all sides of this House. It is regrettable and I apologise for the decision that didn’t end up in the place that I wished for.
Yesterday
I will reiterate, I made a judgment call that didn’t end up in the position where I expected it to. I regret it. I apologise to the SNP...
I apologise and I apologise to the House. I made a mistake. We do make mistakes. I own up to mine. I would say that we can have an SO24 [Standing Order 24] to get an immediate debate because the debate is so important to this House. I will defend every member in this House. Every member matters to me in this House. And it has been said, both sides, I never ever want to go through a situation where I pick up a phone to find a friend, of whatever side, has been murdered by terrorists.
‘We should never let extremists intimidate us into changing the way in which Parliament works’
‘I don’t want another attack on this House. I was in the chair on that day. I have seen, I have witnessed’