Almost 60 MPs call for Sir Lindsay Hoyle to quit as Speaker over Gaza vote

Some 59 MPs have called for Sir Lindsay Hoyle to resign as Speaker of the House of Commons following an acrimonious row over votes on an Israel-Gaza ceasefire.

A so-called ‘early day motion’ of no confidence in Sir Lindsay, brought by Conservative MP William, has reached 59 signatures.

There is no formal mechanism for MPs to remove the Speaker, but should political pressure mean he effectively loses control of the chamber, he could be prevailed upon to resign.

However, the Speaker is in the House as usual and it is understood he is not planning to resign, according to the PA news agency, despite the furore.

Sir Lindsay issued an apology after last night’s vote saw MPs pass Labour’s amendment to an opposition day motion calling for a ceasefire from the Scottish National Party (SNP).

Labour’s amendment also called for a ceasefire but did not contain the words “collective punishment of the Palestinian people”.

The Speaker went against precedent in allowing MPs to vote on Labour’s amendment first before the SNP’s proposal and a government-backed amendment.

It sparked outrage as the decision was viewed as helping Labour to avoid another damaging row over the Middle East, while others argued some MPs faced violent intimidation from protestors had they not been able to vote for a ceasefire.

Tory and SNP politicians walked out of the Commons chamber in protest at the move, and Sir Lindsay is set to meet with House leader Penny Mordaunt in a bid to calm tensions.

The chaos overshadowed the debate on whether there should be a ceasefire in Gaza, while thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered outside in Parliament Square.

Reports of aid deliveries being suspended in northern Gaza amid rising tensions and growing concerns of famine in the territory have surfaced, according to the Guardian.

While Israel has warned it could launch a ground offensive in Rafah in mid-March, where reportedly more than half of Gaza’s 2.3m residents have sought refuge.