The key moments around Lindsay Hoyle row you may have missed

On an extraordinary day in Westminster, MPs have reflected on the chaotic scenes that unfolded in Parliament during Wednesday’s Gaza vote.

Appearing close to tears, Sir Lindsay Hoyle told the Commons that he “made a judgment call that didn’t end up in the position where I expected it to”.

Despite the sincere tone and emotion in his voice, Hoyle’s efforts were nonetheless still met with fury by the SNP – particularly the party’s leader in Westminster, Stephen Flynn. Remaining eloquent and calm as he spoke to an eerily silent House as his own MPs seethed behind him, Flynn cut the tension with a targeted attack on Hoyle for allowing the vote to “descend into a farce because of a decision you made”.

Addressing Hoyle directly as he asked for a vote of no confidence, Flynn said that his party does not believe the speaker can continue in his role, adding: “We do not have confidence in your ability to do so.”

Commons leader Penny Mordaunt also spoke precisely and with vitriol in her voice – but she chose to target the Labour Party rather than the speaker.

Defending Hoyle as a “decent man”, Mordaunt said Labour should “reflect on the damage” it has done to the office of the speaker. Placing Labour firmly in her sights, Mordaunt – who is perhaps already auditioning to be the next Tory leader – added: “I would never have done to him what the Labour Party have done to him.”

Lindsay Hoyle once again apologised for his “judgement call” on Wednesday – but insisted he was “guilty… of a duty of care that I will carry out to protect people”. Addressing MPs after SNP leader Stephen Flynn called for a vote of no confidence in the speaker, Hoyle said: “I regret it… I apologise and I apologise to the House. I made a mistake. We do make mistakes. I own up to mine.” Hoyle said that he had meetings with police about threats to MPs, adding: “I have seen, I have witnessed, I won’t share the details, but the details of the things that have been brought to me are absolutely frightening on all members of this House, on all sides. I have a duty of care, and I say that, and if my mistake is looking after Members I am guilty.”

With emotions still high following the Gaza vote, SNP’s leader in Westminster, Stephen Flynn, has called for a vote of no confidence in Lindsay Hoyle.

Speaking in the Commons on Thursday – while Hoyle listened on – Flynn said that Wednesday night's events represented the "best of this House and it's ability to debate" but also the "worst of this House, as it descended into farce" because of the decision taken by the speaker.

Flynn said the debate turned into “a Labour debate” and said the SNP does not believe Hoyle should remain as speaker, and asked what can be done to schedule a vote of no confidence in the Commons.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has denied threatening Lindsay Hoyle to select Labour’s amendment in the Gaza ceasefire debate. With questions still mounting as to what Starmer said to Hoyle before he approved Labour’s bid to alter the SNP motion, Starmer insisted he “simply urged” Hoyle to have “the broadest possible debate” by putting a number of options in front of MPs.

Speaking in Sussex on Thursday, Starmer said: “I can categorically tell you that I did not threaten the speaker in any way whatsoever. I simply urged to ensure that we have the broadest possible debate so that actually the most important thing, which is what do we do about the situation in Gaza, could be properly discussed by MPs with a number of options in front of them.”

Rishi Sunak’s official spokesman has repeatedly refused to say whether the prime minister has confidence in Sir Lindsay Hoyle when questioned on Thursday.

While Penny Mordaunt defended the speaker in the Commons, Sunak’s spokesman swerved the question of whether the prime minister backed Hoyle.

The spokesman said: “The prime minister’s focus is on addressing the situation in the Middle East. And as I say, that is what he’s spending his time focused on. Matters for the House, as I say, are matters for the House.”

Commons leader Penny Mordaunt focused the blame for Wednesday’s chaotic scenes in Parliament squarely on Labour, as she addressed MPs on Thursday. Defending Sir Lindsay Hoyle, Mordaunt described him as a “decent man” and attacked Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, saying he is “happy to do what he knows to be wrong”.

Mordaunt added: “I would never have done to him [Hoyle] what the Labour Party have done to him. This House will never bow to extremists, threats, or intimidation. It has not, it will not, it must not.

"And I would ask all honourable members not to do this House a further disservice by suggesting that the shameful events that took place yesterday were anything other than party politics on behalf of the Labour Party.”

Should Sir Lindsay Hoyle actually quit, then a new speaker will have to be elected.

It is for MPs to vote for their preferred candidate out of those who put their names forward. A candidate who receives over 50% of the vote would face a question put to the House that they take the chair as speaker.

However, this is mainly a matter of tradition. If no candidate receives over 50% of the vote, the one with the lowest vote – or those on less than 5% – are eliminated. The vote takes place again until one candidate receives more than half the votes.

The successful candidate is then physically dragged to the chair by MPs. This custom is meant to show how speakers would in the past need to be persuaded to take the role as monarchs could execute a speaker for not communicating favourable opinions.

These are the extraordinary scenes in the Commons on Wednesday after MPs called on Sir Lindsay Hoyle to return to the chamber to explain why he broke with parliamentary convention.

Amid shouts of “resign”, Hoyle told MPs he “thought I was doing the right thing and the best thing, and I regret it, and I apologise for how it’s ended up”.

Sir Lindsay Hoyle was elected as the Labour MP for Chorley in 1997 and served as a backbench MP before becoming deputy commons speaker in 2010. It wasn’t until 4 November 2019, after former speaker John Bercow resigned, that Hoyle was elected to take over the role.
He comfortably beat his rival in the contest, Labour MP Chris Bryant, pulling in 60% of the vote. He told MPs in his acceptance speech that would be “transparent” and would oversee the Commons “change for the better”.

Commons speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle is being urged to "come clean" about whether Labour tried to influence his handling of a debate on Gaza which descended into chaos.

The SNP said he needs to make a "make a personal statement" detailing all of his meetings and communications with the Labour leadership ahead of yesterday's motion.

Stephen Flynn, the party's Westminster leader, told Sky News he believed there was a "stich up" between the Speaker and Labour over the amendments - something Labour has denied.

Read the full story from Sky News.

The speaker’s main role is to chair debates in the House of Commons, as MPs discuss new laws or scrutinise the government.

As an impartial member of the House, the speaker will not favour any particular party and should act fairly when calling MPs to speak or when keeping order during debates.

They should ensure that all points of view can be expressed when possible, while they will also decide on other matters like whether to allow an urgent question or suspending debates. In the day to day, the speaker quietens members so others can be heard and also enforce the rules of the House – which could include call on MPs to withdraw remarks that are deemed unparliamentary.

The speaker also represents the Commons in visits to the monarch or other dignitaries, while also chairing the House of Commons Commission, which oversees the general administration of the House.

Sir Lindsay Hoyle is not just facing criticism – he has also received some backing from Labour MPs this morning. Barry Sheerman insisted Hoyle should be “thanked and supported”.

Meanwhile, Jim McMahon said that he was a “decent man” – adding that those signing a no confidence motion should “grow up”.

The speaker of the House of Commons was warned that he would depart from "long-established convention" by allowing Labour to table an amendment to the SNP’s motion on a ceasefire in Gaza, according to a letter from his top adviser.

Tom Goldsmith, who as “Clerk of the House” is the chief adviser on matters of parliamentary procedure, warned Hoyle that his decision had no precedent in the last 25 years.

Read the full story from The National.

Sir Lindsay Hoyle is not technically a member of any political party due to his role as Commons speaker. When elected to the role, a speaker must resign from the political party they are a member of so that they remain impartial when chairing debates.

But Hoyle is an MP for the constituency of Chorley and represented Labour before becoming speaker. In fact, the Labour Party is in his roots, as his father is former Labour MP Doug Hoyle.

Hoyle was also a Labour councillor before he became an MP and in 1980 he became the youngest councillor ever to be elected in Chorley in 1980. He has kept his seat as Chorley MP ever since 1997, when he was the first Labour candidate to be elected there for 18 years.