Chaotic scenes in House of Commons as Speaker embroiled in Gaza vote row
The House of Commons descended into chaos as the Government and SNP condemned Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle for his handling of the Gaza ceasefire debate.
SNP MPs and some Conservatives walked out of the chamber in an apparent protest at the state of affairs as the debate reached its conclusion.
Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt claimed Sir Lindsay had “hijacked” the debate and “undermined the confidence” of the House in its longstanding rules by selecting Labour’s bid to amend the SNP motion calling for an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza and Israel.
It had been expected that Sir Lindsay would select just the Government’s amendment seeking an “immediate humanitarian pause” to the Israel-Hamas conflict, which could pave the way for a more permanent stop in fighting.
But instead, he decided that the Commons would first vote on Labour’s calls for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire” before moving on to further votes on the SNP’s original motion, and then the Government’s proposals if either of the first two were to fail to garner enough support.
Conservative MP William Wragg, who called for Sir Lindsay to resign, later tried to make the House of Commons sit in private.
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In his guardian column yesterday evening the satirist John Crace perfectly summed up the farcical events at Westminster https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/feb/21/while-people-die-in-gaza-the-uk-parliament-goes-to-war-over-the-ceasefire
On a day designated to the SNP and their motion relating to the awful death toll of Palestinians in Gaza, the day is hijacked to send a message to SNP voters that they shouldn’t bother sending any MPs to Westminster as they will be steamrollered and sidelined. Ditto Plaid. ‘Westminster isn’t working’? You bet! The Welsh and Scottish parliaments are way ahead on the ceasefire issue and it is abhorrent that the matter has been used to shut out those who work towards the Independence of their nations which is now something that must follow without referenda.