Yahoo News New Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle pays emotional tribute to late daughter in acceptance speech
The new Speaker of the House of Commons paid an emotional tribute to his late daughter during his acceptance speech.
Sir Lindsay Hoyle won the election to replace John Bercow as Speaker on Monday evening.
In his acceptance speech to the house, the Labour politician paid tribute to his daughter, Natalie Lewis-Hoyle, who was found dead in her bedroom at the age of 28 just before Christmas 2017.
Sir Lindsay told the Commons: "There is one person who's not here, my daughter Natalie.
“I wish she'd have been here, we all miss her as a family, no more so than her mum.
"I've got to say, she was everything to all of us, she will always be missed but she will always be in our thoughts."
Sir Lindsay said he was "truly devastated" at her death.
Ms Lewis-Hoyle, a parish councillor, died in Heybridge, Essex, on December 15, 2017.
An inquest last year into her death heard she had been in a “toxic” relationship before she died.
Her mother, Miriam Lewis, told the inquest: “When somebody is in psychological torment, you don’t get the bruises and the fat lips and the black eyes.
“She was a tiny person, a teeny, tiny person. She was a pocket rocket. She was just a whole bundle of energy.”
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Sir Lindsay told the inquest: “She was a person that loved life. She was life. She brought life to everybody.”
The coroner recorded an open conclusion.
Her death was raised in the House of Commons in May 2018 by her MP, John Whittingdale, who said she had been “in a coercive relationship and suffering mental abuse through what is known as gaslighting”.
Sir Lindsay, the former Deputy Speaker, received more than 50% of votes in the fourth ballot of MPs, defeating his party colleague Chris Bryant. He received 325 votes to Mr Bryant's 213.
Speakers must be politically impartial, meaning Sir Lindsay will be required to resign from the Labour Party in order to carry out his duties.
He said: "I want to hopefully show that the experience I've shown previously will continue. As I've promised, I will be neutral, I will be transparent.
Sir Lindsay said he wanted the Commons to be "once again a great respected House, not just in here but across the world".
He added: "It's the envy, and we've got to make sure that tarnish is polished away, that the respect and tolerance that we expect from everyone who works in here will be shown and we'll keep that in order."
