Lindsay Hoyle: the Commons speaker facing scrutiny
Speaker's position in jeopardy amid MPs anger over controversial rule changes
House of Commons speaker Lindsay Hoyle is clinging to his job after more than 70 MPs backed an early-day motion calling for him to resign.
Hoyle apologised last week after he broke decades of parliamentary convention to allow a vote on a Labour amendment to an SNP motion calling for an "immediate ceasefire" in the Israel-Hamas war.
After chaotic scenes in Parliament, which Rishi Sunak described as "very concerning", 71 MPs have signed a motion of no confidence against Hoyle.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Hoyle was "braced for a second perilous week" in the House of Commons, with the SNP demanding a new vote on Israel's offensive in Gaza, said the Financial Times (FT). The SNP is calling on Hoyle to allow MPs to vote on a fresh motion which, if passed, would ask the government to take "specific, practical, concrete steps to help make an immediate ceasefire happen" in Gaza.
The speaker will be feeling under "intense pressure" as he faces calls to go from disgruntled SNP and Conservative backbenchers, said Politico. But bending parliamentary rules for a second time is therefore "unlikely to impress Hoyle's remaining allies on the Tory and Labour benches".
Who is Lindsay Hoyle?
Hoyle, the son of a Labour MP, was "born to the green benches", said The Times at the time of his election to the speaker's chair in 2019. His father, Doug Hoyle – now Lord Hoyle – stepped down in 1997 as the MP for Warrington North to become a peer as his son was elected in Chorley.
One "Westminster savant" described Hoyle Junior as "a kind of embodiment of the British constitution", said the BBC's parliamentary correspondent, Mark D'Arcy. At the time of his election, Hoyle was viewed as "the sort of politician who has been marinated in parliamentary practice so long they have an instinctive feel for its unwritten rules and unspoken conventions".
Hoyle vowed in 2019 that he would not permit the sort of "Commons chicanery" that many felt had been allowed under his controversial predecessor John Bercow, said Politico. Bercow famously allowed an emergency motion to ensure the government could not take the UK out of the EU without a deal.
Hoyle told the BBC's "Political Thinking" podcast that a tidying up of parliamentary rules was needed to provide clarity so that "nobody could accuse the speaker" of anything. "I've come into this job as a referee, and that's where I want to be. It shouldn't be about me, it's about the chamber," he told Nick Robinson.
Yet Hoyle's decision last week was reminiscent of Bercow's tenure, said Thomas Fleming of UCL's Constitution Unit, speaking to the FT. The former speaker, who stepped down four years ago over bullying allegations, had regularly been criticised for interpreting rules and parliamentary traditions in "unconventional ways".
Why is Hoyle facing so much scrutiny?
Hoyle's decision to allow a vote on the Labour amendment last week led to chaotic scenes in Parliament and criticism from Sunak as dozens of parliamentarians walked out in protest. Many viewed the move as a gift to Labour leader Keir Starmer, who had been facing rebellion from his MPs over the SNP motion.
Hoyle later apologised and said he had made the decision due to fears for MPs' safety if they could not publicly declare their position on the Israel-Hamas war.
In an attempt to calm the storm created by the departure from parliamentary precedent, Hoyle has offered the SNP an emergency debate under Standing Order 24 – a rarely used mechanism that allows a motion to be debated on "neutral terms", with no final vote to determine the government's position. But the SNP had requested that standing order be "substantive" and lead to a vote.
Hoyle has been warned by senior Conservative MPs that granting the SNP such a vote would be seen as "another significant departure from protocol", said The Sunday Times, and only "add to the tensions" seen in the Commons last week.
It leaves Hoyle in a bind, said The Times. He owes his position "in large measure to Tory MPs who appreciated his promise to end Bercow-style constitutional chicanery", yet the SNP's desire to oust him is "likely to intensify" if he refuses the party a meaningful vote.
There is no formal means of removing the speaker from their role. But a no-confidence vote, or even the threat of one, would put Hoyle in an extremely difficult position.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Sorcha Bradley is a writer at The Week and a regular on “The Week Unwrapped” podcast. She worked at The Week magazine for a year and a half before taking up her current role with the digital team, where she mostly covers UK current affairs and politics. Before joining The Week, Sorcha worked at slow-news start-up Tortoise Media. She has also written for Sky News, The Sunday Times, the London Evening Standard and Grazia magazine, among other publications. She has a master’s in newspaper journalism from City, University of London, where she specialised in political journalism.
-
Harris storms media with '60 Minutes,' Stern, podcasts
Speed Read The Democratic candidate is doing a blitz of interviews with less-traditional media
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
23andMe: will customers' DNA go up for sale?
Under The Radar Genetic testing company's financial woes creates concerns around personal data it holds
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Long Covid: study shows damage to brain's 'control centre'
The Explainer Research could help scientists understand long-term effects of Covid-19 as well as conditions such as MS and dementia
By The Week UK Published
-
What's behind Trump's last-minute merch push?
Today's Big Question With just weeks to go before the election, Donald Trump is spending the waning days of his campaign hawking a suite of new products, from silver coins to cryptocurrency
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
The most notable October surprises
In the Spotlight Late breaking news in October has the power to rock presidential races
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
'Extreme heat stunts development'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Why are meteorologists worried Trump could ruin their forecasts?
Today's Big Question How a conservative push to dismantle a little-known government agency could lead to big headaches for anyone hoping to get a handle on their local weather
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
'Such wrongdoing encourages foreign corrupt practices'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Mexico's first woman president has unprecedented power but an uncertain future
In the Spotlight Claudia Sheinbaum has promised to continue her predecessor's legacy
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
'The patient, our home planet Earth, is in critical condition'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
'His death creates an opportunity for rough justice'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published