House of Common leader faces calls to resign

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It has been a chaotic afternoon in the House of Commons, and it has descended into a shambolic mess within 30 minutes.

So what exactly happened?

Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle selected both the Labour and government amendments to the SNP’s Gaza ceasefire motion.

This was an unusual move - the convention has been that if the government tabled an amendment to an opposition day motion, amendments from other parties would not be accepted.

The decision provoked fury in the Commons.

Playing with politics

Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt accused Sir Lindsay Hoyle of having “undermined the confidence” of the House

She confirmed the government would pull its amendment and would not be taking part in tonight’s votes.

SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn demanded his party’s motion be put to a vote first (before the Labour amendment) if the government has pulled its amendment - as per the standing orders.

Deputy Speaker Dame Rosie Winterton, who was in the chair in place of Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle for the points of order, said the Labour amendment will be voted on first, which both the SNP and Conservatives MPs were unhappy with.

Many on both benches left the chamber in protest.

Mr Flynn called for the House to be suspended and for Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle to return to the chair, but Dame Rosie refused.

Tory MP William Wragg then moved a proposal on whether the House of Commons should sit in private. It is being voted on as a delaying tactic to delay the votes and try to force Sir Lindsay Hoyle back to the Commons.

Vote of no confidence

There are now 66 MPs who have signed a motion of no confidence in Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle.

Here’s the full list of Conservatives:

  1. William Wragg
  2. Gary Sambrook
  3. Jill Mortimer
  4. John Stevenson
  5. Kieran Mullan
  6. Anthony Mangnall
  7. James Duddridge
  8. Jo Gideon
  9. Chris Green
  10. Bob Blackman
  11. Tom Randall
  12. Jonathan Lord
  13. Karl McCartney
  14. Derek Thomas
  15. Jack Brereton
  16. Tom Hunt
  17. James Grundy
  18. Brendan Clarke-Smith
  19. Lee Anderson
  20. Graham Brady
  21. Eddie Hughes
  22. Geoffrey Clifton-Brown
  23. Marco Longhi
  24. Simon Baynes
  25. Shaun Bailey
  26. Matt Warman
  27. Steve Double
  28. Danny Kruger
  29. Miriam Cates
  30. Robert Goodwill
  31. Lia Nici
  32. Jonathan Gullis
  33. Kelly Tolhurst
  34. Luke Evans
  35. Jane Hunt
  36. Ian Levy
  37. Paul Howell

And from the SNP:

  1. David Linden

  2. Stewart Malcolm McDonald

  3. Chris Law

  4. John McNally

  5. Gavin Newlands

  6. Pete Wishart

  7. Martyn Day

  8. Patricia Gibson

  9. Joanna Cherry

  10. Alison Thewliss

  11. Anum Qaisar

  12. Douglas Chapman

  13. Carol Monaghan

  14. Drew Hendry

  15. Anne McLaughlin

  16. John Nicolson

  17. Alyn Smith

  18. Kirsty Blackman

  19. Ronnie Cowan

  20. Dave Doogan

  21. Amy Callaghan

  22. Brendan O’Hara

  23. Alan Brown

  24. Stephen Flynn

  25. Mhairi Black

  26. Richard Thomson

  27. Kirsten Oswald

  28. Allan Dorans

Independent:

  1. Rob Roberts

The Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey has said the party does retain confidence in the Speaker

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Do you think this deviation from convention will have lasting implications for the dynamics within the House, or could it be a momentary disruption?

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Oh dear, it does sound quite chaotic😮

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Possibly, The speaker has already apologised but if Labour played a role in this it could provide an insight into how they may govern. I think Labour may look to introduce constitutional reforms.

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