UK Politics

Islamist extremists are being allowed to intimidate Britain’s MPs and must be stopped, former Home Office minister Robert Jenrick has said.The senior Conservative MP said the “real issue” of the last 24 hours in Parliament was not the “party political shenanigans” but that the House of Commons “appears cowed by threats of violence and intimidation”.A Commons row erupted on Wednesday (21 February) over Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle’s handling of an SNP-led Gaza ceasefire debate, after he took the unusual step of selecting a Labour amendment, saying this came as he was “very, very concerned about the security” of MPs and wanted all sides to vote. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster email The chaotic debate over a cease-fire in Gaza reverberated through Britain’s Parliament on Thursday as the speaker of the House of Commons faced calls to resign, and lawmakers said they feared for their safety amid pressure from all sides of the issue.After more than six hours of sometimes heated debate on Wednesday, both the governing Conservative Party and the Scottish National Party, or SNP, refused to participate in voting on the question. That left Labour, the largest opposition party, with the largely hollow victory of passing its version of a nonbinding motion calling for an “immediate humanitarian” cease-fire unopposed.Anger over the way the debate unfolded led to more than 50 lawmakers submitting letters of no confidence in Speaker Lindsay Hoyle on Thursday. Hoyle was meeting with the leaders of all three main parties to plot a way forward.Underlying the parliamentary tug-of-war are rising tensions over the Israel-Hamas war, with hundreds of thousands of people marching through London last Saturday in support of the Palestinian cause and figures showing that the number of antisemitic incidents in the United Kingdom jumped almost 150% last year.That is spilling over into Parliament, where the Gaza issue has been “weaponized” and some lawmakers believe they have to vote a particular way to ensure their own safety and the safety of their families, Conservative Charles Walker said during Wednesday’s debate.“This is a far bigger issue than the debate we’re having tonight, because if people are changing their votes in this place, or changing their behaviors in this place, because they are frightened what may happen to them or their families out there, then we have a real problem,” Walker said. “So this point scoring off each other is not going to resolve many issues.”Wednesday’s debate was triggered when the SNP put forward a motion calling for an immediate cease-fire that highlighted the devastation caused by Israel’s attacks on Gaza. The Labour Party offered an amendment that stressed Israel’s need to ensure it never again faces attacks like those that were carried out by Hamas on Oct. 7. The government countered with its own amendment restating its call for an “immediate humanitarian pause” in the fighting.In an effort to ease tensions in Parliament, Hoyle sought to allow separate votes on all three motions.But the speaker’s carefully constructed compromise collapsed when the government withdrew its motion, because Hoyle’s decision departed from House of Commons traditions under which he was expected to reject the Labour amendment. The SNP followed suit, saying lawmakers would no longer have an opportunity to vote on its proposal.Hoyle apologized Thursday and acknowledged that he made a mistake. But he said that he was trying to make sure that all lawmakers had the chance to make their positions clear in a climate of threat and intimidation. “I have a duty of care that I will carry out to protect people,″ he told the Commons. “It is the protection that led me to make a wrong decision, but what I do not apologize (for) is the risk that has been put on all members at the moment. I had serious meetings yesterday with the police on the issues and threats to politicians for us heading to an election.”Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt, who represents the government, blamed Labour for the chaotic scenes during Wednesday’s debate.“This House will never bow to extremists, threats, or intimidation,” she told the Commons on Thursday. “It has not, it will not, it must not.“And I would ask all honorable members not to do this House a further disservice by suggesting that the shameful events that took place yesterday were anything other than party politics on behalf of the Labour Party.”But the Institute for Government, an independent think tank focused on effective government in the U.K., criticized politicians on all sides of the issue for allowing a meaningful debate on Gaza to descend into “embarrassing chaos.”All of the parties are being disingenuous about their motives, with the government and SNP mostly upset, because they lost an opportunity to highlight the divisions within Labour over its Gaza policy, Hannah White, the institute’s director, wrote in an analysis published Thursday.Labour, trying to balance pressures from pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian supporters, only recently changed its policy to support calls for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza.“Political game-playing over parliamentary procedure is unedifying at the best of times, but for parliamentarians to behave in this way during a debate about a conflict in which tens of thousands are dying has undoubtedly brought Parliament into disrepute,” White said. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailJacob Rees-Mogg has shared a bizarre rant against “liberals who drink skimmed milk”. Posting on Twitter, the former business, energy and industrial strategy minister insisted only full-fat milk will “nourish your inner Tory”.Mr Rees-Mogg tried six types of milk while interviewing a dairy farmer from Cheshire on his GB News programme State of the Nation.Jacob Rees-Mogg insisted only full-fat milk will “nourish your inner Tory”He berated plant-based milk alternatives such as oat, almond and cashew substitutes, calling them “ghastly”. He then said these plants “can’t be milk” and labelled almond milk as tasting like “porridge liquefied”.The ex-minister opened the segment highlighting how low-fat cheese and yoghurt had reached the supermarket shelves, adding: “For decades creamy milk – the real thing – was ostracised. “The health lobby went for yoghurt and cheese claiming the low-fat options were better for you. Unfortunately, the public began to obey, with lower fat options increasing in sales volume. But then things took a turn for the worse with even more ghastly things coming out like oat, almond, cashew and soya milk.”However, he added there was “good news” that “traditional milk is back on the rise”.He said: “Sales of whole milk [are] up two per cent in the past three months.”Labour MP Stella Creasy suggested the genuine TV clip looks as if it is a parody.She said: “We must tackle deepfake technology being used to create political content urgently, before they further undermine what confidence people have left in democracy.”Other social media users similarly expressed their disbelief, with one user writing: “Somebody tell me this is satire?!?” More

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

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

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

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

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