Lindsay Hoyle latest: What happened during Gaza vote and why is Commons speaker facing calls to resign

A ceasefire in Gaza which leaves Hamas in power is “not going to last”, Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron has said.

He said: “What we have said, the Prime Minister and I, is there are several things you need. You need the hostages to be released, you need Hamas leaders to leave Gaza, you need to take down the infrastructure of terrorism, you need the prospect of political reform for the Palestinians, you need new Palestinian government.

“That’s how you get the fighting to stop. Simply calling for a ceasefire doesn’t make it happen.

“Of course, if you had a ceasefire without those conditions, if Hamas are still there, if they are still firing rockets, if they have still got the ability to do another October 7, that is not going to last.

“Our way of doing it, pause, leading to sustainable ceasefire, without a return to fighting, that’s the best way.

“Just saying ‘let’s have a ceasefire now’ without any change in the behaviour of Hamas, it’s not going to last.”

Conservative MP Lee Anderson said that the House speaker’s handling of a debate on Gaza ended up helping the Labour party.

“Whether he’s done it on purpose or not, Lindsay Hoyle has helped out his Labour mates,” he told GB News.

“It’s my opinion that pressure was put on the speaker to change the normal process and allow Labour to take control of the debate.”

Sir Lindsay Hoyle tried to change the rules to help Labour avoid a split vote over a Gaza ceasefire but ended up pleading for his job, writes John Rentoul

Stephen Flynn described his mood after the debate as “scunnered”, a Scottish slang term meaning disappointed or annoyed.

“I am sure everyone at home watching is a bit scunnered too because the reality is that we were here to discuss something much bigger than ourselves, much bigger than this Parliament,” he added.

The SNP MP went on: “It was the safety of civilian life in Gaza, the desire and the need for that immediate ceasefire, something which we have been pushing for for months and instead we have turned into a complete pantomime, a pantomime driven by the fact that the Labour Party could not bring themselves to vote for an SNP motion, so forced the speaker of the House of Commons to deviate from the procedures of this House.”

Following the speaker’s apology in the Commons, Mr Flynn had said he would take “significant convincing” that the speaker’s position was “not now intolerable”.

Outside he added: “I am going to rightly give him the opportunity to do that because he is someone who I have enormous respect for.

“I have until today a very good personal relationship with him and I am sure that that will continue, but he let us all down tonight, and as such instead of talking about the situation in Gaza we are instead talking about him and what has happened with him and the Labour Party today and that is not good enough.”

Fists clenched, eyes bulging, shouts of “shame” and “disgrace”, MPs waving their arms in fury… you would have to go back to the darkest days of the Brexit battles in 2019 to recall similar scenes after a speaker’s ruling.

But it was not spiky former chair John Bercow who drew the howls of outrage this afternoon. It was Lindsay Hoyle, his genial, cuddly and hard-to-dislike successor – the man who was chosen precisely because he embodied the very opposite traits of Bercow.

Sir Lindsay had just announced that he would allow a Labour amendment to a Scottish National Party motion on an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza, even though the day’s debate had been allocated to the SNP. Behind the arcane parliamentary procedures, the point was that he had just let Keir Starmer off a mighty big hook.

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Stephen Flynn has called for an investigation into the chaos in the Commons on Wednesday following a debate on Gaza led by his party.

The SNP Westminster leader suggested Labour had sought to influence commons speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle into taking the unprecedented step of granting multiple votes during a debate on a Gaza ceasefire led by his Commons.

Mr Flynn told the PA news agency: “Every single member of Parliament knows that (Sir) Lindsay Hoyle was meeting with Sir Keir Starmer and Alan Campbell, the Labour chief whip, before a decision was taken today.

“Indeed it was suggested to me that was a reason the speaker was jumping in and out of the speaker’s chair in advance of proceedings, which will obviously all be on camera for everyone to reflect upon.

“I think we probably need a wee bit of an investigation into what has happened here, and all those individuals who have been involved, but again, I am sure during the private conversation that I have with the speaker he will be able to hopefully alleviate some of my concerns in relation to that.”

Mr Flynn claimed he had written to Labour leader Sir Keir at the weekend inviting the party to discuss his Opposition Day motion ahead of the debate, but added: “He has not even replied because he was obviously busy trying to put pressure on the speaker to negate any discussion about the SNP’s motion.

“It has been posited to me that the SNP have been playing games on this, when in actual fact we are the ones who have been consistent in our view for months, and anyone watching the House of Commons today will know exactly who has been playing the games, and it is the incoming Labour government.”

Sir Keir Starmer accused the Tories and SNP of “choosing political games over serious solutions”.

Following chaos in the Commons that saw SNP and some Conservative MPs walk out of the chamber, the Labour leader said in a statement: “Today was a chance for Parliament to unite and speak with one voice on the horrendous situation in Gaza and Israel.

“It was in that spirit that Labour put forward an amendment calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire. One that that will last, that would require both sides to observe it, that would demand hostages are returned, that aid gets into Gaza, that said Israel has a right to be protected against a repeat of October 7th and – crucially – that requires a road map for a two-state solution. It is a serious plan for such an incredibly serious situation.

“Unfortunately, the Conservatives and the SNP decided to walk out hand-in-hand, refusing to vote on this serious matter, yet again choosing political games over serious solutions.

“It is clear the only party with a plan for the challenges facing Britain – whether here or abroad – is Labour. And it is clearer than ever that it is only Labour that will put country over party and silly political games in order to deliver.”

Sir Lindsay Hoyle apologised to MPs and vowed to hold talks with senior party figures amid calls to “resign”.

He said: “I thought I was doing the right thing and the best thing, and I regret it, and I apologise for how it’s ended up.”

He said he took the decision to allow all sides to “express their views” and that he was “very, very concerned about the security” of MPs who have received personal threats over their stance on the Gaza conflict.

The row erupted when Sir Lindsay Hoyle decided the Commons would first vote on Labour’s amendment calling for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire” before moving on to further votes on the SNP’s original motion and then a government proposal seeking an “immediate humanitarian pause”.

He disregarded warnings from the House of Commons Clerk over the unprecedented nature of the move, which provoked uproar in the chamber.

Labour’s amendment ended up passing unopposed without a formal vote after the government pulled its participation.

The Speaker of the House of Commons is under pressure over his handling of a debate on Gaza, which resulted in MPs passing Labour’s amendment calling for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire” amid scenes of chaos.

The motion was approved but only after Sir Lindsay Hoyle upended parliamentary convention by selecting Labour’s bid to amend an SNP motion on the Israel-Hamas war.

His decision sparked fury from the Conservative and SNP benches, who accused him of helping Sir Keir Starmer avoid another damaging revolt over the Middle East issue.

Sir Lindsay issued an apology after a day of acrimony but continues to face calls to resign.