Speaker plays straight bat on aid cut amendment – but then bowls PM a hostile bouncer

Published

4 years ago

June 7, 2021

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Seldom has a ruling by the Speaker of the House of Commons been so eagerly anticipated by MPs.

During the Brexit wars of a couple of years ago, pro-Remain John Bercow could be relied upon to deliver rulings to cause maximum turmoil and embarrassment for the government.

Sir Lindsay Hoyle is a much less partisan figure, however, and when he has to made a tricky or controversial ruling he relies on the advice of the Commons clerks and legal bods. Mr Bercow used to overrule them.

So when he had to rule on Tory MP Andrew Mitchell’s bid to use a piece of legislation on science research to reverse Boris Johnson’s overseas aid cut, cricket fan Sir Lindsay played a straight bat.

It wasn’t in order, he declared, to almost no-one’s surprise.

What was more surprising was Sir Lindsay’s angry attack on the government at the end of his ruling. From straight bat to bowling the prime minister a hostile bouncer.

First he encouraged Mr Mitchell and his supporters to apply for an emergency debate on the aid cut, which he duly did and now MPs will have three hours to attack the government. A free hit for the PM’s critics.

Then he rounded off his statement with some furious finger pointing at the government frontbench as he bluntly ordered ministers to hold a vote on the aid cut without delay – or he’d connive with MPs to find a way to hold one.

“I wish and hope, very quickly, that this is taken on board,” the normally cheery Sir Lindsay warned, his lip curling with disdain for the government’s attempts to dodge a vote.

“I don’t want this to drag on,” he said. “If not, we will then look to find other ways in which we can move forward.”

Then when Sir Lindsay’s deputy, Nigel Evans, tested support for Mr Mitchell’s application for an emergency debate, no-one rose to their feet quicker than former prime minister Theresa May, who was seated just a few rows further forward.

She was one of around 30 Conservative MPs who had put their names to the Mitchell new clause to the Advanced Research and Invention Agency Bill, a Dominic Cummings legacy, no less. What an ironic twist.

The Tory rebels included old bruisers like David Davis and Sir Edward Leigh, but cabinet ministers from the May years like Jeremy Hunt and Damian Green and MPs from both the Brexit and Remain wings of the party.

In his response to Sir Lindsay’s ruling and then in his bid for an emergency debate, Mr Mitchell claimed that had the vote gone ahead he would have won by nine or possibly 20 votes. He reminded MPs, of course, that he is a former chief whip.

Really? That assumes all the Conservative MPs who put their names to his new clause would have trooped into the Aye lobby with Labour, the Lib Dems and the SNP. Would Mrs May – victim of dozens of bruising rebellions as PM – go that far?

She has form for voicing her objection to a Boris Johnson policy and then absenting herself from a vote, no doubt because of a pressing engagement elsewhere.

Former prime ministers tend not to rebel, with the exception of Ted Heath during the Thatcher years. Not for nothing was he known as “the incredible sulk”.

Talking of ex-prime ministers, the Tories’ 0.7% aid spending pledge is a legacy of David Cameron’s time as Tory leader.

It was even written into law in 2015, as Sir Lindsay reminded MPs. That’s presumably why Mr Cameron’s former bag-carrier Sir Desmond Swayne was among the rebels.

Not that they would accept that they’re rebels. Since 0.7% was a Tory manifesto pledge, they’ve claimed throughout this row that they’re the loyalists.

Not sure that’s how the current chief whip, the burly, ruddy-faced Nottinghamshire farmer Mark Spencer, would see it.

With Mr Mitchell’s new clause ruled out of order, the debate that followed was a dismal anti-climax.

But hostilities will resume in the emergency debate and if and when the government brings forward a proper vote on the aid cut.

Sir Lindsay will no doubt continue to play a straight bat. But his mood suggests he is growing tired of the prime minister dodging the umpire’s rulings.

Politics

Budget 2025: Consumer confidence falls as speculation ramps up – but London mayor welcomes major rail investment

Published

2 hours ago

November 20, 2025

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Budget 2025: Consumer confidence falls as speculation ramps up - but London mayor welcomes major rail investment

Consumer confidence has tumbled amid rampant speculation about what the chancellor will announce in the budget, figures show.

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) blamed “strong hints” from the government of income tax hikes for the public’s falling expectations of how much they’ll spend over the next three months – even as Christmas beckons.

While a planned increase in income tax rates was scrapped last week, Sir Keir Starmer has refused to rule out freezing income tax thresholds – which the Conservatives argue amounts to a tax rise by stealth because it drags people into paying higher rates even if their wages increase.

BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson said months of uncertainty had “heightened public concern about their own finances and the wider economy”.

Consumer expectations for the state of the economy over the next three months have fallen significantly to minus 44, down from minus 35 in October, according to data from the BRC and Opinium.

Ms Dickinson said action was needed from Rachel Reeves to “bring down the spiralling cost burden facing retailers”, which she said would “keep price rises in check”.

Signs of ‘fragile’ recovery in jobs market

In slightly more encouraging news for Ms Reeves ahead of her statement next Wednesday, new research suggests the jobs market may be on the up.

The Recruitment and Employment Confederation said the number of new job adverts last month was 754,359, up by 2.1% from September, taking the total to more than 1.6 million.

Ms Reeves’s decision to hike national insurance contributions for employers in last year’s budget was blamed for a slowdown in the market, and a rising unemployment rate.

The report said there has been an increase in adverts for medical radiographers, delivery drivers and couriers, and further education teaching professionals.

But it warned the apparent recovery was “fragile”.

Reeves set to back DLR extension

One man looking forward to the budget is Sir Sadiq Khan, who has welcomed reports that London’s DLR is set to be given funding for an extension.

According to the Press Association, the chancellor will back an extension to the Docklands Light Railway to Thamesmead at a cost of £1.7bn – unlocking thousands of new homes.

Thamesmead has been notoriously short of public transport links ever since it was developed in the 1960s.

The plan would see the line extended from Gallions Reach, near London City Airport, and include a new station at Beckton as well as in Thamesmead itself.

Sir Sadiq said the DLR extension “will not only transform travel in a historically under-served part of the capital but also unlock thousands of new jobs and homes, boosting the economy not just locally but nationally”.

It is also expected to unlock land for 25,000 new homes and up to 10,000 new jobs, along with almost £18bn of private investment in the area.

Politics

Prospective CFTC chair addresses DeFi regulation at nomination hearing

Published

8 hours ago

November 19, 2025

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Prospective CFTC chair addresses DeFi regulation at nomination hearing

Michael Selig, who serves as chief counsel for the crypto task force at the US Securities and Exchange Commission, faced questions from lawmakers on the Senate Agriculture Committee for his nomination to be the next chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

On Wednesday, Selig appeared before the committee and addressed questions and concerns from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle regarding his potential conflicts of interest, policy views and experience as the next CFTC chair, succeeding Caroline Pham.

Government, Senate, SEC, CFTC, United States — *Michael Selig addressing lawmakers on Wednesday’s confirmation hearing. Source:* *US Senate Agriculture Committee*

In his opening statement, Selig said he had advised a wide range of market participants, including digital asset companies, and warned against the agency taking a regulation-by-enforcement approach, stating that it would drive companies offshore.

“We’re at a unique moment in the history of our financial markets,” said Selig. “A wide range of new technologies, products, and platforms are emerging […] the digital asset economy alone has grown from a mere curiosity to a nearly $4 trillion market.”

The confirmation of Selig, whom US President Donald Trump nominated to chair the CFTC following the removal of his first pick, Brian Quintenz, is expected to head for a vote soon. According to the Senate calendar, the Agriculture Committee is scheduled to discuss his nomination on Thursday.

Addressing DeFi, crypto enforcement, roles of agency

The prospective CFTC chair responded to questions from the committee chair, Senator John Boozman, who advocated for the agency to take a leading role in regulating spot digital commodity markets. The senator’s remarks came as the committee is expected to consider a market structure bill that would give the CFTC more authority to regulate crypto.

“The CFTC, and only the CFTC, should regulate the trading of digital commodities,” said Boozman.

The Arkansas senator questioned Selig about his potential approach to decentralized finance if he were to be confirmed, an issue that reportedly divided many lawmakers on the market structure bill.

“When we’re thinking about DeFi, it’s something of a buzzword, but really we should be looking to onchain markets and onchain applications and thinking about the features of these applications as well as where there’s an actual intermediary involved […]” said Selig.

He added that it was “vitally important that we have a cop on the beat” in response to a question on regulating crypto, specifically spot digital asset commodity markets.