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.