Commons In Uproar As MPs Slam Speaker Ahead Of Crunch Gaza Debate

The House of Commons descended into uproar after Speaker Lindsay Hoyle made a controversial ruling at the start of a crunch debate on the war in Gaza.

In a highly unusual move, he told MPs he was choosing a Labour amendment to an SNP motion which calls for an “immediate ceasefire” in the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

Hoyle said: “I think it’s important on this occasion that the House is able to consider the widest possible range of options.”

But that sparked fury from both SNP and Tory MPs, who insisted there was no precedent for the Speaker’s ruling.

Some shouted “shame” at the Speaker, while others compared him to his predecessor John Bercow, who made a series of controversial rulings during the Brexit debates.

Hoyle, who was first elected as a Labour MP in 1997, critics believed he had made the ruling to prevent Keir Starmer suffering a major rebellion by dozens of his own MPs.

Veteran SNP MP Pete Wishart posted on X: “Absolutely ridiculous ruling from the Speaker. He has totally lost it and this will come back to haunt him. He talks about ‘precedent’ but this has practically never happened.

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