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Sir Lindsay Hoyle, speaker of the UK’s House of Commons, is fighting for his political survival this morning after a day of chaos in parliament reminiscent of the Brexit era.
Hoyle apologised after his handling of a vote on a Gaza ceasefire resulted in Scottish National Party and Conservative MPs walking out of the chamber. The details are technical but important: Hoyle broke with precedent by including a Labour motion in Wednesday’s vote, even though it was an opposition day earmarked for the SNP.
He also called for a review of these “outdated” rules. The decision was greeted with fury by SNP and Conservative MPs. Those who didn’t walk out eventually approved Labour’s amendment, which called for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire” in Gaza.
But this was more about political manoeuvrings than what is unfolding in the Middle East.
Hoyle’s decision to include the Labour motion helped the opposition leader Keir Starmer avoid a rebellion by his MPs over the party’s stance on the Israel-Hamas war.
Furious Tories accused Hoyle of bias, noting that there had been no latitude for previous votes that were challenging for their side, such as on free school meals. While the Commons speaker is meant to be strictly non-partisan and must renounce all political affiliation when in the role, Hoyle was elected as the Labour MP for Chorley.
William Wragg, a senior Tory, tabled a no confidence motion in Hoyle, backed by dozens of colleagues as well as the SNP. Sources told Tortoise that this may be followed by a government motion and that Hoyle is “finished”. The government is also expected to allow the SNP to bring its ceasefire vote back “to kick it off for Labour again”.
Before a vote could take place, the Commons leader, Penny Mordaunt, announced the government was pulling its own amendment, which resulted in the SNP’s own vote falling away. That left just Labour’s amendment – and a furious group of SNP politicians, led by Stephen Flynn, repeatedly demanding Hoyle return to the chamber to explain his decision.
Eventually – and unconventionally – an emotional looking Hoyle did return. He apologised but stressed his decision had been taken in good faith, partly because of concerns about MPs’ security. Flynn accepted the apology, but said he would need “significant convincing that your position is not now intolerable”.
Hoyle is now under pressure from all wings of the Tory party as well as the SNP. Multiple sources doubt he can survive in post. Labour is in the spotlight over what role its MPs played in the decision, and is now destabilised by a third big row in three weeks after U-turning on green investment plans and abandoning its candidate in Rochdale because of an anti-semitism scandal.
The pugilistic anti-war campaigner George Galloway is now the favourite to win Rochdale’s by-election next week, meaning Gaza will continue to be a pressure point for Labour for some time to come.