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The House of Commons has descended into chaos as Conservative and SNP MPs walked out of the chamber in an apparent protest over the Speaker’s handling of the Gaza ceasefire debate.
Commons Leader and Tory MP Penny Mordaunt claimed Sir Lindsay Hoyle had hijacked the debate and undermined the confidence of the House in its longstanding rules by selecting Labour’s bid to amend the SNP motion calling for an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza and Israel.
It had been expected Sir Lindsay would select just the government’s amendment seeking an “immediate humanitarian pause” to the Israel-Hamas conflict, which could pave the way for a more permanent stop in fighting.
But instead, he decided the Commons would first vote on Labour’s calls for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire” before moving on to further votes on the SNP’s original motion, and then the government’s proposals if either of the first two were to fail to garner enough support.
Sir Lindsay was warned by House of Commons Clerk Tom Goldsmith about the unprecedented nature of his decision ahead of the clash with MPs, the senior official saying he felt “compelled to point out that long-established conventions are not being followed in this case”.
The Speaker faced calls to resign over his decision, which sparked uproar in the chamber and shouts of “bring back Bercow” – referring to his predecessor, John Bercow.
Ms Mordaunt said said he had “raised temperatures” and put MPs in a “more difficult position”.
Conservative MP William Wragg, who called for Sir Lindsay to resign, later tried to make the House of Commons sit in private.
Mr Wragg Wragg that ministers wanted to sign his motion of no confidence in the Speaker.
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