Gaza vote: What happened in the Commons yesterday – and can the Speaker Lindsay Hoyle be sacked?
Raised voices, walk-outs, calls for resignations, even a few tears – it was a hairy day over in parliament on Wednesday and not the usual scenes expected from an opposition day debate.
So what rattled Westminster and its MPs? And how did the Speaker, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, find himself at the centre of the furore?
Politics live: Tens of MPs sign no-confidence motion in Speaker after Commons chaos
We take a look at how the saga played out.
What was supposed to happen?
As the third largest party in the Commons, the SNP is entitled to three opposition days in parliament every session – letting them pick the topic to be debated on the floor of the chamber.
Wednesday was one of those days, and the party chose the Israel-Hamas war, laying down a motion calling for an “immediate ceasefire” in the Middle East.
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This has been a long-held position of the SNP, so the proposal came as no surprise.
But it did lead to mounting pressure on the Labour Party to shift its position – which had, until this point, echoed the government’s calls for a “pause” – as the last time a ceasefire vote took place, there was a raft of resignations from their frontbench.
So, on Tuesday – and after days of speculation – shadow foreign secretary David Lammy announced Labour would be putting forward an amendment to the SNP motion, calling for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire”.
There were still caveats in place, including ensuring both sides laid down their weapons and that all the Israeli hostages were released, but it was seen as a big shift for Labour.
Come Wednesday, the stage was set for the debate – but little did we know about the chaos that was coming.
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Labour’s David Lammy calls for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire”
Why is the Speaker in trouble?
At the start of a debate on a motion, it is down to the Speaker to decide if any amendments to it can be debated and voted on.
But parliamentary convention says that if the motion has been put forward by an opposition party, like the SNP, it cannot be amended by another opposition party, like Labour – only by the government.
Despite anger from his clerk, and feathers being spat by a number of MPs, Sir Lindsay decided both the government and Labour’s amendments to the SNP’s motion could and would be voted on, claiming he wanted to give the House as many options as possible when debating such an emotive topic.
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Speaker angers SNP and Tories
Conservative MPs accused the Speaker – a Labour MP before taking on the role – of making an “overtly political decision” to help Sir Keir Starmer fend off a rebellion from his own MPs, who could back the SNP motion without a Labour alternative to support.
Then came a curve ball from the Tory Leader of the House, Penny Mordaunt, who decided to pull the government’s amendment from the floor.
She announced her party would “play no further part” in proceedings in protest at the actions of Sir Lindsay – something she claimed “undermined the confidence” of MPs in the House’s procedures.
Penny Mordaunt made a surprise move by pulling the government’s amendment. Pic: Sky News
And with that amendment gone – and Tories abstaining from any votes – Labour’s amendment was able to pass without a vote.
But that meant the original SNP motion had been changed to Labour’s form of words, and the Scottish MPs never got a chance to vote on their own proposal, leading to fury from their benches.
How has he responded?
MPs from the SNP and the Conservatives staged a walkout in protest to what had played out and demanded Sir Lindsay come to the Commons to explain himself.
And eventually, he did, apologising to all sides over what had happened.
The Speaker reiterated his earlier justifications for selecting the Labour amendment, saying he had been trying to ensure all options were on the table for MPs to vote on – as well as protecting MPs’ safety.
“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.
“I do take responsibility for my actions.”
But Tory MPs were heard shouting “resign” throughout his apology, and SNP leader Stephen Flynn said he would “take significant convincing” that his position was “not now intolerable”.
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SNP leader says Speaker’s position may be ‘intolerable’
Could Sir Lindsay be replaced?
After all the drama had come to a close in the chamber, there were more parliamentary shenanigans to be had.
A group of 33 MPs from both the Tories and the SNP signed up to a no-confidence motion in Sir Lindsay in the form of an early-day motion.
So-called EDMs are rarely debated, but they offer MPs a way of drawing attention to their views and stating them publicly.
So while it may highlight their unhappiness with the Speaker, it doesn’t push him out the door.
Yet there is a feeling in the air that Sir Lindsay is going to have to fight to keep his job now and win over his critics.
How would parliament choose a new speaker?
According to the Institute for Government, there’s no formal means of removing the Speaker from their role.
But MPs can hold a vote of no-confidence in him or her, making it extremely difficult for them to hold on – and perhaps pushing them towards resigning.
If Sir Lindsay did step down – either because of a vote or the threat of one coming his way – the chair would need to be filled.
Candidates would be put forward via written nominations, and if one secured more than 50% of the vote among MPs, a motion would be put to the Commons to confirm their appointment.
If the motion didn’t pass, selection and voting would start again.
If nobody secured 50% in the first place, the candidate with the lowest vote share would be removed from the ballot and the vote would be repeated until someone hit the threshold and a winner emerged.
Amnesty International says it is “deeply concerning” that police made 474 arrests during a Palestine Action demonstration in London.
Metropolitan Police said 466 were detained under the Terrorism Act for showing support for a banned group.
Eight more people were arrested for other offences, including five for assaulting officers.
The Met said it was the most arrests it’s made related to a single operation in at least the past decade.
Pic: PA
Organiser of the event, Defend Our Juries, earlier said up to 700 people were at the event in Parliament Square and claimed police were preparing for the “largest mass arrest in their history”.
The group said those arrested included former Guantanamo Bay detainee Moazzam Begg, NHS workers, quakers and a blind wheelchair user.
Amnesty International UK’s chief executive Sacha Deshmukh said in a statement: “The protesters in Parliament Square were not inciting violence and it is entirely disproportionate to the point of absurdity to be treating them as terrorists.
“Instead of criminalising peaceful demonstrators, the government should be focusing on taking immediate and unequivocal action to put a stop to Israel’s genocide and ending any risk of UK complicity in it.”
The Met said a “significant number of people” at the event were seen “displaying placards expressing support for Palestine Action”.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “The right to protest is one we protect fiercely but this is very different from displaying support for this one specific and narrow, proscribed organisation.
“Palestine Action was proscribed based on strong security advice following serious attacks the group has committed, involving violence, significant injuries and extensive criminal damage.”
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Palestine Action supporters arrested at protest
Police said those arrested had been taken to processing points in Westminster and any whose details could be confirmed were bailed on condition they didn’t attend further Palestine Action support events.
Others whose details could not be verified, possibly because they refused to give them, were taken to custody suites across London.
Pic: PA
The protests have put a strain on authorities’ capacity to cope.
Sky News understands senior leaders in the prison service, known as “Capacity Gold”, met today to discuss how to deal with the large number of arrests as the male prison estate is close to full.
It’s understood 800 inmates were moved out of the busiest jails in and around London beforehand.
In a statement, the Metropolitan Police Federation said: “Thinking of our colleagues and wishing all assaulted officers well. Remember there are no ‘extra’ police officers – just the same ones having their days off cancelled, having to work longer shifts and being moved from other areas. Officers are emotionally and physically exhausted.”
Read more: What does proscribing a group mean?
Legislation to ban Palestine Action came into force on 5 July, making it a criminal offence to show support for the organisation, carrying a prison sentence of up to 14 years.
Defend Our Juries said earlier this week the protest would still go ahead, following several similar demonstrations since it was outlawed last month.
On Saturday, a spokesperson said: “Palestine Action and people holding cardboard signs present no danger to the public at large.”
Pic: PA
Human rights advocates Amnesty International described the arrests of so many people under UK terrorism law as “deeply concerning”.
Another march organised by the Palestine Coalition, which is a separate group, set off from Russell Square and assembled on Whitehall.
The Met Police said one person had been arrested there for showing a placard in support of Palestine Action.
Pic: Reuters
Earlier this week, three people charged as a result of illegal Palestine Action activity were named.
Jeremy Shippam, 71, of West Sussex, Judit Murray, also 71, of Surrey, and Fiona Maclean, 53, of Hackney in east London, will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 16 September.
The ban on Palestine Action faces a legal challenge in November after the High Court granted a full judicial review to Palestine Action co-founder Huda Ammori.
Foreign criminals will be deported from the UK immediately after they are sentenced, the justice secretary has said.
The law change proposed by Shabana Mahmood could save taxpayers an average of £54,000 a year per prison place.
The changes would apply to prisoners serving fixed-term “determinate” sentences.
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May: Inside one of Britain’s most overcrowded prisons
Authorities would also retain their power not to deport a criminal but instead keep them in custody – with examples including if an offender is planning further crimes against the UK’s interests or national security.
The justice secretary’s announcement goes further than a change to the law in June – expected to come into force in September – meaning prisoners face deportation 30% into their sentence rather than the current 50%.
The government will need parliament to greenlight its proposal to bring this down to 0%.
Foreign national offenders make up around 12% of the prison population.
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May: Male prison capacity running at 99%
Ms Mahmood said: “Our message is clear – if you abuse our hospitality and break our laws, we will send you packing.”
She added: “Deportations are up under this government, and with this new law they will happen earlier than ever before.”
Almost 5,200 foreign national offenders have been deported since July 2024, a 14% increase on the 12 months prior, according to the government.
Read more:
Inside one of Britain’s most overcrowded prisons
Prison system came ‘within days of collapse’
Prisoners to be moved to lower security jail
According to a Labour source, the previous Conservative government relied on prison transfer agreements with other countries to deport foreign national offenders, in deals which allow inmates to serve their custodial sentence in their “home” country.
This saw 945 prisoners sent to jails abroad between 2010 and 2023, equal to fewer than two criminals per week.
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July: Jenrick slams justice system shake-up
Conservative shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick said: “In Starmer’s topsy-turvy world, investors are fleeing the country in their droves while record numbers of violent and sexual offenders from abroad are put up in our prisons. It’s a farce.
“Yet again Starmer has refused to confront our broken human rights laws.
“He needs to grow a backbone and change them so we can actually deport these individuals.
“The safety of the British public is infinitely more important than the ‘rights’ of sick foreign criminals.
“If countries won’t take back their nationals, Starmer should suspend visas and foreign aid. His soft-touch approach isn’t working.”
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