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    Watch: Mordaunt takes questions as Hoyle faces calls to resign following Commons chaos

    Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailWatch as Penny Mordaunt, leader of the House of Commons, takes business questions after accusing the Commons speaker last night of making a decision “that undermines the confidence of this House”.A government minister has also refused to back Sir Lindsay Hoyle following an evening of parliamentary chaos over a vote on Gaza on Wednesday 21 February.Maria Caulfield said she would “struggle to support” him after he upended parliamentary convention by selecting Labour’s bid to amend an SNP motion calling for an immediate ceasefire.The health minister urged Sir Lindsay to “come clean” about what discussions were had before the vote amid Tory and SNP suggestions that the opposition sought to influence his decision.Sir Lindsay issued an apology after a day of acrimony that saw MPs pass Labour’s amendment to the opposition day motion as Conservative and SNP politicians walked out of the debate in protest.Last night, Ms Mordaunt, accused him of having “undermined the confidence” of the Commons in an attack over the proceedings on Wednesday. More

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    Lindsay Hoyle apologises to MPs after Commons chaos: ‘I made a mistake’

    Sir Lindsay Hoyle apologised to MPs again on Thursday 22 February, after the House of Commons descended into chaos on Wednesday evening during a Gaza ceasefire debate.The speaker admitted he made a “mistake” as he faces accusations he helped Sir Keir Starmer avoid another damaging revolt over the Middle East issue by upending parliamentary convention in approving Labour’s bid to alter an SNP motion calling for an immediate ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war.“I made a judgement call that did not end up in the position where I expected it to. I regret it, I apologise to the SNP and I apologise to the House,” Sir Lindsay said.“I made a mistake.” More

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    Penny Mordaunt claims Commons Speaker Hoyle is victim of ‘weak and fickle’ Starmer

    Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt blamed the Labour Party for chaotic scenes in the Commons on Wednesday (21 February) over a vote on Gaza.Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle broke with convention to allow a vote on Labour’s Gaza ceasefire amendment.Hoyle apologised to the House of Commons after the chamber descended into chaos, with MPs walking out in protest at his handling of the debate.Ms Mordaunt today claimed Hoyle was a victim of “weak and fickle” Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer.She told the Commons on Thursday: “I would never have done to him what the Labour Party have done to him.” More

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    Voices: Should speaker Lindsay Hoyle resign over Gaza ceasefire vote chaos? Join The Independent Debate

    Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailPressure is mounting for Sir Lindsay Hoyle to resign, after a motion of no confidence in the speaker was signed by more than 50 MPs.On Wednesday, MPs walked out of the chamber in protest at his handling of the Gaza ceasefire debate.The speaker later apologised to the House of Commons and vowed to hold talks with senior party figures amid calls to “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 added he wanted 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.We want to know what you make of last night’s chaos in the Commons. Should Sir Lindsay resign following the Gaza ceasefire debate? Or is it all much ado about nothing?If you want to share your opinion then add it in the comments and we’ll highlight the most insightful ones as they come in.All you have to do is sign up and register your details – then you can then take part in the discussion. You can also sign up by clicking ‘log in’ on the top right-hand corner of the screen.Make sure you adhere to our community guidelines, which can be found here. For a full guide on how to comment click here.Join the conversation with other Independent readers below. More

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    Who is Lindsay Hoyle, the Commons speaker embroiled in the Gaza ceasefire vote row?

    Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailCommons speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle has found himself at the centre of a political storm this week following his controversial and unprecedented decision to allow MPs to vote on a Labour amendment to the SNP’s Gaza ceasefire motion.Hoyle claims he made his decision to allow the “widest possible range of options” to be considered. In an unlikely union, many SNP and Conservative MPs have called for his resignation, lodging accusations of bias towards his former party.Here’s everything you need to know about the Commons speaker, his life and political career:Commons Speaker – 2019-PresentHoyle become Speaker of the House of Commons in November 2019, beating rival Labour MP Chris Bryant with 60 per cent of the final vote. In his acceptance speech, he said he would be a “transparent” speaker, telling MPs that “this House will change, but it will change for the better”.Until recent events, Hoyle has remained a largely uncontroversial speaker. His predecessor John Bercow had been accused of bullying during his time in the role, with an independent panel upholding many of the allegations against him.Hoyle has made clear his aim of distinguishing himself from predecessor: “I’ve come into this job as a referee”, he said after his election. “It shouldn’t be about me, it’s about the Chamber”.Hoyle’s reputation as impartial has not regularly come into question before now. In 2019, his support from both sides of the chamber was seen as a sign of trust in his commitment to non-partisanship in the crucial speaker role.MP for Chorley – 1997-2019Hoyle served as MP for Chorley, a seat in the northern county of Lancashire, for nearly 22 years. At the time of his election, he was the first Labour MP for the consitency in 18 years.Hoyle served on the backbench for the entirety of his time as an MP. He has previously discussed his tensions with former Labour prime minister Tony Blair over issues such as tuition fees and Gibraltar: “I’m not anti-Tony; he made us electable and won three times. But there are principles and promises you don’t break,”In 2010, Hoyle became deputy commons speaker, with many considering him a rising star in the role. In 2013, he won acclaim for shutting down jeering MPs during a budget debate.Later, in 2017, he scolded SNP MPs for singing the European National Anthem in Commons – culminating in a heated clash with then-Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond.In 2018, Hoyle was appointed a Knight Bachelor in the New Year Honours for political and parliamentary servicesLife and education before parliamentBefore becoming an MP, Hoyle was a Labour councillor in the Chorley Borough for the ward of Adlington. He remained in this position from 1980 until his election as an MP in 1997, serving for 27 years and being re-elected four times.Hoyle was born and raised in Adlington, Lancashire. He attended primary school in the area and college in the nearby town of Bolton. Before his election as an MP, Hoyle ran his own textile and screen printing business. More

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    Tory former justice secretary defends Hoyle: ‘He cares very deeply’

    Tory former justice secretary Sir Robert Buckland has said he won’t ask for a vote of confidence in Sir Lindsay Hoyle.Sir Lindsay apologised to the House of Commons after chaos ensued during a debate over a ceasefire in Gaza on Wednesday evening (21 February).The Commons Speaker faced shouts of “resign” from both sides of the House after selecting Labour’s bid to amend an SNP motion calling for an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza and Israel.Speaking on the Robert Peston Show on Wednesday, Sir Robert said: “We’ve been down this road before with the previous speaker and votes etc. I’m not going to nail my colours to the mast. I think he made a fullsome apology, I thought that was heartfelt. I listened to it carefully, I know the man and I know he cares very deeply and will be reflecting tonight.” More

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    UK aid plane to Gaza takes off from Jordan as humanitarian crisis continues

    Aid to Gaza has been loaded and dispatched as the humanitarian crisis in Gaza continues to raise international concern.The UK-funded consignment of aid, delivered by the Jordanian Air Force, was dropped on Wednesday 21 February into the Tal Al-Hawa Hospital in northern Gaza.Four tonnes of vital supplies were provided in the air-drop, including medicines, fuel, and food for hospital patients and staff.The Tal al-Hawa Hospital, set up by the Jordanian Armed Forces, is located in Gaza City and has treated thousands of patients since the start of the crisis. More

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    Nigel Farage tells right-wing US event that ‘religious sectarianism’ is new threat in UK

    Sign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UKSign up to our Brexit email for the latest insightFormer Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage appeared to forget a large part of British history on Wednesday when he told a gathering of American conservatives that “religious sectarianism” was a new problem in British politics.Speaking at an “international summit” held on the eve of the 2024 Conservative Political Action Conference alongside former British Prime Minister Liz Truss and other right-wing international figures, Mr Farage told attendees that Western nations are facing now a “huge internal problem” that he described as a “new phenomenon”.That phenomenon, which he said was “beginning to dominate British politics,” was “religious sectarianism”.Mr Farage was referring to the pro-Palestinian voices protesting outside the House of Commons as Parliament debated the Israel-Gaza war, and he complained about “religious hatred” that “exists against Israel, against the Jewish people” and blamed “successive labour and conservative governments” for having “pursued completely irresponsible immigration policies” and not encouraging integration by Muslim immigrants.”Now we have radical Islam is becoming mainstream in British politics. We will have by the 2029 general election, we will have a radical Islamic party represented in Westminster and this is why borders, you can’t be a proper country, unless you control your borders,” he said. “The internal threats of religious divide and sectarianism, that happening to us first, but if you’re not very careful … all of us will face it”.Mr Farage’s comments about religious sectarianism appeared to whitewash centuries of British history and leave out important moments such as the 16th century English Reformation, during which Henry VIII broke the Church of England away from the authority of the Catholic Church. The former Brexit Party leader and Ukip MEP also appeared to leave out of his analysis the bloody English Civil War, the beheading of Charles I and the restoration of the monarchy in 1660, all driven by causes including sectarian disputes between Catholics and Protestants.Former UK prime minister Liz Truss and ex-Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage at CPAC in Washington DCHe also did not seem to count in his analysis the three decades of The Troubles, during which Catholic Irish Republicans, Protestant Unionists and British troops fought a quasi-guerilla war over the status of Northern Ireland which killed more than 3,500 people, the majority of whom were civilians.The decades of violence only came to an end with the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, which established a power-sharing devolved government in Belfast.Asked if he wanted to clarify his comments, Mr Farage – who has appeared at rallies with Donald Trump – told The Independent that he believed sectarianism was indeed a new phenomenon in Britain.“We’ve had it in Northern Ireland, we’ve seen the baleful effects of it, and it’s now coming to England. I’ve never seen it in my lifetime,” he said. More