Shouting, slamming doors and an unprecedented rebellion in the British parliament over the war on Gaza

A war worse than Brexit in the British House of Commons, in an attempt to stop the war in Gaza and a rebellion within the Labor ranks over the amendment of the “An immediate humanitarian ceasefire “on the margins. The property and the historic Speaker (President) of the House, Sir Lindsay Hoyle is today threatened by his position with a motion of confidence, with 53 deputies willing to oust him.

Never seen in the very British house. It was because he decided to deal with the three Labour, Conservative and Scottish Nationalist ceasefire amendments in the borough and produced a real inter-party revolt.

Wednesday night was one of the historic and unprecedented evenings in the House of Commons. To avoid a Labor rebellion, the leader of the House, Lindsay Hoyle, accepted pressure from leader Keir Starmer.

So he decided that the three all-party amendments on “humanitarian cessation of hostilities in Israel”. A semantic war by each faction to stop the war in Gaza. His decision could cost him his honorable career and is unprecedented.

Scottish nationalists and Conservatives stormed out of the chamber, shouting “betrayal”, warning him that they had lost faith in him. All in 5 minutes. A real mutiny against a Speaker calm, moderate, loved and respected by all. The Labor motion was also voted on.

Scandal and excuses

Hoyle apologized. He said he had not intended to torpedo the ceasefire vote, but the damage had been done. Already on Thursday there were 53 votes in favor of a motion of confidence. It would be the first time that a vote would be taken to oust the Speaker of the House of Commons, whose decision saved Labor from a major rebellion. They were divided over the ceasefire, the role of Hamas and the handing over of the hostages.

Sir Lindsay eventually apologized publicly and expressed regret at the way the situation had developed. “I take responsibility for my actions and that’s why I want to meet the key players who were involved,” he said.

There were cries of “resign” when he made the statement.

An hour before the apology, they had developed chaotic scenes in the House of Commons.

It’s the big scandal in Great Britain. Lindsay Hoyle is a well-respected and good-natured MP, originally working class. And today you are on the verge of imploding your political career and going down in history as the first president fired by parliamentarians, in a show about the Gaza tragedy.

three amendments

Conservative and SNP MPs have launched an attempt to oust him. So far 53 MPs have tabled a motion of no confidence and more are expected to join.

Lord Lindsay He was accused of favoring the Labor Party, the party he represented as an MP for two decades, agreeing to put his position on the conflict between Israel and Gaza to the vote.

He made the decision, despite being explicitly warned by the Clerk of the House of Commons that the approach broke with a convention for such debates in the days of opposition.

On Wednesday afternoon, 33 MPs signed the so-called early motion moved by Will Wragg, a Conservative MP and vice-chairman of the 1922 committee – the Conservatives’ peak authority – which effectively urged Sir Lindsay to leave.

In the House of Commons, Penny Mordaunt, leader of the House, said the speaker had “hijacked” the debate and “undermined the confidence” of the House.

Stephen Flynn, leader of Scottish Nationalism (SNP) in the House of Commons, told Sir Lindsay that “it will take a lot of convincing that his position is not now intolerable”.

The reaction sparked heated scenes, the likes of which had not been seen in the House of Commons for years. SNP and Conservative MPs finally They left in protest for how the votes were managed.

Pressures

Sir Keir personally lobbied Sir Lindsay to choose the Labor amendment for the vote. The party leader visited him on Wednesday to plead his case, raising fresh questions about the extent to which Labor was seeking to lean on the president once the decision on the vote was made.

The political danger for Sir Lindsay has not passed. There is no formal mechanism for removing a Speaker of the House of Commons.one of the institutions of democracy in the kingdom.

At the heart of the dispute is the accusation – vehemently denied by the President’s team – that he accepted a vote on Labour’s position on Gaza due to political bias.

Sir Lindsay’s allies said the decision was made because of concerns about MPs’ safety and a genuine belief that all parties should put their positions to a vote.

The dramatic day in the House of Commons was triggered by the SNP’s attempt to divide Labor MPs with a motion calling for an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza.

To stop the rebellion, the Labor Party introduced its own amendment. That wording called for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire.” But it was made clear that a longer ceasefire depended on the return of hostages taken in the October 7 attack by Hamas.

The government also presented its own amendment, calling for measures towards a “permanent and sustainable ceasefire”.

Fight

It was up to Sir Lindsay, president since 2019, to decide whether a vote should be held on Labour’s amendment. There were two other amendments, one Conservative and one Scottish Nationalist and, in his capacity, he is the one who chooses. He chose all three.

This would likely result in political advantages for the Labor leadership, as it would be easier to force Labor MPs to support their amendment and abstain on the SNP’s position.

But there was fury by members of the SNP and Conservative Party when Sir Lindsay announced that Labour’s amendment would actually be voted on, despite it breaking conventions about how opposition days in the House of Commons work.

An hour before the apology, chaotic scenes had taken place in the House of Commons.

Ms Mordaunt announced that the government was withdrawing its amendment in protest at the way the debate was handled.

Today Sir Lindsay apologized to Scottish nationalists. He offered to hold an emergency debate on the vote of confidence, but he said he had taken that decision “to protect all MPs”. He explained to them that he made the decision to protect all MPs, when Britain is approaching an election year and two MPs have already been killed. That same morning police had shown “terrifying images” of threats to deputies and warned them that “all deputies were at risk.”

It is important to note that this early motion will not necessarily force Sir Lindsay to resign.

He is not obliged to resign if a certain number of MPs support him. There will hardly be a debate on this.

Conservative former defense secretary Ben Wallace, however, largely supported the speaker. He posted that Sir Lindsay is “head and shoulders above” the Speakers under whom he worked, he is “not pompous” and has their “full support”.