An extraordinary row has broken out amid the growing fallout from the House of Commons chaos on Wednesday night, with Sir Keir Starmer denying he threatened Sir Lindsay Hoyle over the Gaza ceasefire vote.
As pressure mounted on the speaker of the House, with 59 MPs signing a no confidence motion to oust Sir Lindsay, the Labour leader said he had "simply urged" the ex-Labour MP to allow the “broadest possible debate” on a ceasefire motion.
Leader of the House Penny Mordaunt had sought to pile pressure on Labour, blaming “weak and fickle” Sir Keir for the scenes that unfolded, with Tory and SNP MPs storming out of the chamber.
And she refused to pile in amid mounting pressure on Sir Lindsay, despite the rising number of MPs backing the motion to oust him.
Ms Mordaunt branded the speaker a "decent man", adding: “The speaker came to this House last night, he took responsibility for his actions, he apologised, he is reflecting on what has happened and he’s meeting with all parties.
“And I hope that everyone who was involved in those events yesterday, and the consequences of them, will also reflect on their actions and take responsibility for them.”
She a described Sir Lindsay as a "decent man" and attacked the Labour Leader for chaotic scenes in Parliament, saying Sir Keir is "happy to do what he knows to be wrong".
Sir Keir categorically denied suggestions that he piled pressure on Sir Lindsay to help Labour avoid a rebellion on Wednesday night, adding said that he "simply urged" Sir Lindsay to have "the broadest possible debate" by putting a number of options in front of MPs during the Gaza ceasefire debate.
Speaking at a train depot in Sussex he said: "I can categorically tell you that I did not threaten the Speaker in any way whatsoever.”
But senior Tory Will Wragg, who submitted the no confidence motion in Sir Lindsay, called for a vote on whether he should be replaced.
The outgoing MP said: "It is with regret that I've laid an Early Day Motion in my name."
He added: "That EDM continues to gather names this morning, could she confirm from the despatch box the process by which that motion can be brought as a substantive motion to the floor of the House to be debated and voted upon?"
It came as Downing Street repeatedly refused to say whether Rishi Sunak retains confidence in Sir Lindsay as speaker. Asked whether the Prime Minister has confidence in Sir Lindsay Hoyle, Mr Sunak's official spokesman said: "The Prime Minister's focus is on addressing the situation in the Middle East.”
Earlier, health minister Maria Caulfield became the first member of the government refusing to back Sir Lindsay, saying she was “disappointed” in him and “would struggle to support him” going forward.
Ms Caulfield, who backed Sir Lindsay to replace John Bercow as speaker in 2019, said his position is now “difficult”.
The row erupted Sir Lindsay broke with Commons convention on Wednesday night to let MPs vote on Labour’s proposal for a ceasefire - as well as motions from the SNP and the government.
He was accused of caving to pressure from Sir Keir Starmer and other top Labour figures to put the party’s motion to a vote, after tens of MPs had threatened to rebel and back the SNP’s ceasefire motion.
The decision resulted in chaos in the Commons, with Tory and SNP MPs walking out of the chamber in protest allowing Labour’s ceasefire motion to pass without a vote.
When Sir Lindsay announced his decision, against the advice of the Commons clerk, he was met with howls of “shame” and “bring back Bercow”. He has since come under intense pressure to quit, and a no confidence motion in him has been backed by 57 MPs.
Sir Lindsay has apologised, telling MPs it was “never in my intention for it to end up like this”, and will meet party leaders on Thursday in a bid to rebuild confidence in the speaker’s impartiality.
But, asked about the row on Thursday morning, Ms Caulfield refused to back Sir Lindsay, telling Sky News: “I have concerns, I’ll be honest.
“I did vote for him, but I am disappointed in his actions, there is no doubt about it... disappointed and surprised as well, because that is not normally how Sir Lindsay would behave.
“I would struggle now to support him, but let’s see what happens in the next 24 to 48 hours.”
Labour’s national campaign coordinator Pat McFadden hit back, claiming Sir Lindsay was “taking the rap” for the Conservatives’ decision to boycott the votes. He also told Times Radio it was “absolute nonsense” to suggest Sir Lindsay was strong-armed into his decision by Labour figures.
I apologise for how it’s ended up
Despite Sir Lindsay’s apology after a day of unedifying scenes in the Commons, he continues to face calls to resign.
Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt launched a bitter attack on Sir Lindsay, claiming he had “hijacked” the debate and “undermined the confidence” of the House in its long-standing rules.
The two could come face to face again on Thursday when she delivers a business statement in the Commons.
Tensions boiled over on Wednesday when Sir Lindsay decided the Commons would first vote on Labour’s amendment 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.
It marked the first time the Commons formally backed an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, though the Government does not have to adopt the position as the vote is not binding.
The SNP were ultimately unable to vote on their proposition calling for “an immediate ceasefire”, which was meant to be the focus of their Opposition Day.
Today should have been about a ceasefire in Gaza.
— Stephen Flynn MP (@StephenFlynnSNP) February 21, 2024
It’s why the SNP brought forward our motion.
Westminster blocked our chance at a straight vote due to the actions of the Speaker and Labour Party.
We will continue to speak up for those suffering as a result of this conflict.
SNP MPs and some Conservatives walked out of the debate in protest at the Speaker’s handling of the matter in extraordinary scenes.
After calls for him to return to the chamber to explain his move, Sir Lindsay apologised to MPs and vowed to hold talks with senior party figures.
Amid shouts of “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.
But SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn said he would take significant convincing that the Speaker’s position was “not now intolerable” and claimed his party had been treated with “complete and utter contempt”.
He also called for an investigation as he appeared to suggest Sir Keir and Labour’s chief whip had exerted pressure on Sir Lindsay, a former Labour MP, ahead of his decision to pick the party’s amendment for debate.
Had the Speaker not chosen it, Labour MPs in favour of a ceasefire could have been pushed to back the SNP motion, in a repeat of a major rebellion against the Labour leadership in November.
However, Labour frontbencher John Healey told BBC Newsnight it was “totally untrue that he (the Speaker) was put under pressure”.
