New Speaker has Type 1 diabetes after weight loss
THE new Commons Speaker has vowed to keep battling after he was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes days before the election.
Sir Lindsay Hoyle, 62, was urged to visit the doctor by his wife Catherine after he lost almost three stone.
The symptoms were so severe that doctors wanted him to stay in hospital, but he refused to miss the election campaign.
The Speaker said he was taking inspiration from Theresa May, who served as prime minister with Type 1 diabetes.
‘I’m going to cope with it,’ he said. ‘I’m going to manage it. I’m going to get through this.’ Diais betes occurs when blood sugar levels rise dangerously.
Type 1 is an unpreventable autoimmune disease that usually develops in childhood, while Type 2 is mostly caused by poor diet.
Symptoms can include thirst, losing weight, tiredness and urinating more than usual.
Sir Lindsay took over from John Bercow as Speaker following a Commons vote at the start of November. He was re-elected on Tuesday.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, he said doctors told him: ‘We’re really probably going to have to keep you in.’
He recalled: ‘ I said: “Well, that’s impossible, I’m in the middle of a General Election with ten days to go.” ’
Sir Lindsay said he was ‘more or less 100 per cent sure’ that his diabetes is Type 1, and said his body’s levels of ketones – a chemical produced by the liver that can build up in diabetics – were ‘off the scale’. He added: ‘The fact that suddenly I go in, and then I’ve got to start injecting insulin came as a real shock.
‘Never, ever did I expect it would happen to me. And to come at such a time, it really is taking a lot of getting used to.’
Sir Lindsay said Mrs May was an inspiration, and revealed he had spoken to her about his diagnosis. ‘She said to me, “Look, if you ever need a chat, if you ever want some support...”,’ he said. ‘She was really kind, very considerate and said, “Your life doesn’t have to change”. And I think that’s what’s so important.’
He said the diagnosis ‘is still a shock’, but insisted he was determined to continue his roles as an MP for the Lancashire seat of Chorley and as the new Speaker.
‘I’m on tablets, as well as having to inject insulin, but it doesn’t stop me carrying on and nothing
going to be a barrier to me,’ he said. ‘I’m going to cope with it. I’m going to manage it. I’m going to get through this.
‘The fact is, I feel really well. We know what it is – that’s the good news – and of course, I have got to get over it and get on with my job.
‘ The House of Commons elected me to be the Speaker and there’s nothing that’s going to stop me from doing that.’
Chris Askew, chief executive of Diabetes UK, said: ‘Living with Type 1 diabetes can be hard, but as Sir Lindsay’s experiences have shown... people can live full and healthy lives following their diagnosis. It’s often thought that Type 1 diabetes only affects children but, while it’s less common to see someone of Sir Lindsay’s age diagnosed, it can affect a person at any time in their life.’
‘It’s taking a lot of getting used to’