Explainer
Why is the Commons speaker facing calls to quit
and what happens next?
Confidence in Sir Lindsay Hoyle is crumbling over his
handling of a vote on calling for a ceasefire in Gaza
Ben Quinn
Political correspondent
@BenQuinn75
Thu 22 Feb
2024 07.43 EST
The speaker
of the House of Commons, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, is facing calls to resign over his
handling of a vote by MPs on calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, which led to
walkouts and claims of a stitch-up that favoured the Labour party.
What was expected to have happened?
Much of the
anger towards Hoyle comes from the Scottish National party (SNP), whose
position as the third largest party in the Commons permits it to pick three
opposition days every parliamentary session when it chooses the topic for
debate.
On this
occasion it had put forward a motion calling for an immediate ceasefire in
Gaza, reflecting its long-term stance. This had placed particular pressure on
Labour, whose leadership had been avoiding the explicit use of this wording.
Amendments
had been put forward by the government, which sought an “immediate humanitarian
pause”, and by Labour, which had come up with carefully crafted wording backing
a ceasefire but in language different to the SNP’s.
As many as
100 Labour MPs, including shadow cabinet ministers, had been expected to vote
for the SNP motion in defiance of Keir Starmer, after the last ceasefire vote
in November triggered the biggest rebellion of his tenure.
What happened instead?
In a breach
of convention – which sparked concerns from none other than the clerk of the
Commons – the speaker decided that MPs would first vote on Labour’s amendment
before moving on to votes on the SNP’s original motion and the government
proposal.
Labour’s
motion subsequently went through after the leader of the house, Penny Mordaunt,
announced that the government would withdraw from voting.
“Regrettably,
Mr Speaker has inserted himself into the row and undermined the confidence of
this house in being able to rely on its long-established standing orders to
govern its debates,” she said.
From a
situation where Starmer had been facing the biggest crisis of his tenure as
Labour leader, he emerged arguably as a stronger figure.
Why were these events such a problem?
Hoyle
issued an apology late on Wednesday at the end of a chaotic six-hour debate,
saying his decision “didn’t end up in the place that I wished”. Hoyle said he
had been persuaded to allow both amendments because of threats to the personal
safety of many MPs, who he believed should have been able to vote on a range of
options.
But Stephen
Flynn, the SNP leader at Westminster, said the upshot was that SNP opposition
day had turned into a Labour opposition day.
Confidence
in the speaker – a figure who is supposed to be an honest broker and who
traditionally stands unopposed by the main parties when they seek election as
an independent – is now crumbling amid claims he buckled under pressure from
his old party, Labour.
The BBC’s
Nick Watt reported that senior Labour figures had told him Hoyle had been “left
in no doubt” Labour would bring him down as speaker after the general election
if he did not select the party’s motion.
Is this the end of the road for Hoyle?
While
Conservative sources have not ruled out standing a candidate against Hoyle at
the general election, the most immediate threat to him comes from an early day
motion tabled by the Conservative backbencher William Wragg.
The
single-sentence motion, stating that “this house has no confidence in Mr
Speaker”, had been signed by 57 Conservative and SNP MPs before noon on
Thursday.
The
government has been staying out of it, at least for now, but the attitude of
Conservative whips towards the motion will be key.
Off the
record, one minister said that while there was “much upset” with Hoyle, they
did not believe he faced an existential threat. That may yet change.
What happens next?
Meetings
were due to take place between Hoyle, party leaders and whips as he sought to
rebuild confidence.
The motion
of no confidence in Hoyle continues to collect signatures and could present a
significant challenge to him if it reaches 100 by the end of Thursday.
It would be
a dramatic step for the government to authorise a heave against Hoyle,
particularly as Labour continues to support him. But it may also suit Rishi
Sunak to sit above the fray and tacitly allow backbench Conservative MPs to
vent their frustration for a few days on someone other than him.
Expect
Hoyle also to come in for a kicking in the Conservative-supporting press over
the coming days. While he may weather this crisis, the coming months may prove
to be wearing for the speaker as he limps on towards the general election.
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