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Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the Commons Speaker, faces calls for resignation after his unprecedented decision to allow a Labour Party amendment to go to vote during the Gaza ceasefire debate at the House of Commons on February 22. Wednesday was designated as Scottish National Party (SNP) opposition day, meaning the SNP MPs could put forward their motion for an "immediate ceasefire" in Gaza to the vote.
But Lindsay Hoyle's move to allow the Labour amendment to go to vote first left both the Conservatives and SNP MPs furious at the Speaker, leading to calls for resignation and Hoyle to be replaced with John Bercow, Lindsay Hoyle's predecessor in the House of Commons till 2019.
As the chaotic debate made its rounds on social media, netizens echoed the Tory and SNP MP's thoughts, with several users on X tweeting,
"Bring Back Bercow"
Netizens react to Speaker Lindsay Hoyle getting heckled in the House of Commons
What was supposed to be a debate about the Gaza ceasefire took a chaotic turn as Speaker Lindsay Hoyle drew the ire of both the Conservatives and SNP MPs by allowing a Labour amendment on the SNP motion first, citing that the decision could allow MPs to express their views on "the widest range of propositions."
This move sparked outrage amongst the Scottish Nationalists, who accused Lindsay Hoyle of letting the vote be "hijacked" by Starmer. Amid much heckling and calls for resignation, the Labour Party's amendment for an "immediate humanitarian ceasefire" in Gaza was voted unanimously.
As clips of the chaos in the Commons circulated on social media, many accused the Speaker of being "disgraceful," calling for his resignation to bring back his predecessor Bercow.
Speaker Lindsay Hoyle apologized for his decision at the House of Commons
According to The Guardian, Lindsay Hoyle apologized to the MPs for his decision after the six-hour debate, saying,
“It is clear that today did not show the house at its best. I will reflect on my part in that of course. I have tried to do what I thought was the right thing for all sides of this House. It is regrettable, and I apologise, that the decision didn’t end up in the place that I wished.”
The SNP's motion called for an "immediate ceasefire" and an end to the "collective punishment of the Palestinian people." This motion was widely supported by the Labour Party MPs, with leader Sir Kier Starmer facing a potential in-party revolt for not calling for a ceasefire.
As per the BBC, Starmer had a massive rebellion when 56 of his MPs defied him to back an SNP motion to call for a ceasefire in Gaza in November 2023. This led the Opposition leader to call for an "immediate humanitarian ceasefire" in Gaza on Tuesday for the first time since the conflict began in October.
The Labour Party's amendment also stated that Israel "cannot be expected to cease fighting if Hamas continues with violence." It also urged for a diplomatic process to deliver "a safe and secure Israel alongside a viable Palestinian state."
The amendment went to vote in the Commons and was passed unopposed after the Tory and SNP MPs walked out of the debate. Following this, Labour leader Starmer accused the other two parties of “choosing political games over serious solutions.”
Lindsay Hoyle later clarified that he allowed both the government's and Labour's amendments due to the various threats faced by the Labour MPs, a few of whom had publically spoken about the abuse they faced after they abstained from voting on the SNP motion for a ceasefire in November.
