POLL: Who needs to be the following speaker of the House of Commons? | Politics | News | EUROtoday

Pressure is mounting on Sir Lindsay Hoyle, Speaker of the House of Commons, after Wednesday’s shambolic scenes in Parliament – so immediately Express readers are being requested: who would you need to substitute him?

Sir Lindsay, who has been in his submit since 2019, has confronted savage criticism over his dealing with of the Gaza ceasefire debate, particularly his resolution to interrupt with conference by approving Labour’s bid to amend an SNP movement calling for a right away ceasefire within the Israel-Hamas struggle.

He has since apologised and provided an emergency debate on the SNP’s movement calling for a ceasefire – however with almost 70 MPs now calling for him to stop, it is probably not sufficient to save lots of him.

If Sir Lindsay does resolve to name it a day, many Express readers may even see Jacob Rees-Mogg as alternative.

The staunch Brexiteer has a strong grasp of Parliamentary process, having served as Leader of the House of Commons within the Government of ex-Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

If you possibly can’t see the ballot above, click on right here.

However, the MP for North East Somerset could be a contentious alternative for a lot of Labour MPs, and in addition famously did not endear himself to Caroline Lucas, the Green MP for Brighton Pavilion when she berated him for “spreading across three seats” throughout a late-night debate in 2019.

Speaking of Brexit, former Brexit Minister David Davis may also be a preferred alternative. The 75-year-old is a Westminster veteran, having served as MP for Haltemprice and Howden since 1987.

His latest heroics in intervening to save lots of a homeless man being attacked on the street may additionally lend him a sure cross-party attraction.

When it involves the opposition benches, Chris Bryant, a well-known face within the corridors of Westminster, and a former Church of England priest, would possibly match the invoice, having himself served as Deputy Leader of the House of Commons from 2008 and 2009.

Nevertheless, the Rhondda MP’s strident opposition to Britain’s resolution to stop the EU would probably put many Conservative Brexiteers off the thought.

The present deputy speaker is Eleanor Laing, the Tory MP for Epping Forest, who has served within the submit since 2013. Ms Laing misplaced out to Sir Lindsay within the contest to exchange John Bercow as Speaker 5 years in the past.

However, since November 15, she has been beneath investigation by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, Daniel Greenberg, for “actions causing significant damage to the reputation of the House as a whole, or of its Members generally”.

Other names being mentioned include Tory MPs Caroline Nokes (Romsey and Southampton North), Robert Buckland (South Swindon) and Nigel Evans (Ribble Valley).

So far 67 MPs have signed an early day motion tabled by William Wragg voicing no confidence in the Speaker. Philip Dunne, the Tory MP for Ludlow, also put his name to it, but has since withdrawn his signature.

There is no official procedure for removing a speaker, although Michael Martin quit in 2019 after it became apparent he had lost the confidence of MPs across the Commons.

Sir Lindsay’s explanation that he was motivated by concern about MPs’ security has triggered a debate about the impact of threats and intimidation around the work of Parliament.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said yesterday: “Parliament is a crucial place for us to have these debates.

“And just because some people may want to stifle that with intimidation or aggressive behaviour, we should not bend to that and change how Parliament works.

“That’s a very slippery slope.”

Betting website Star Sports is currently offering short odds of 2/5 on Sir Lindsay not being Speaker by April 3, rating him at 7/4 to remain in the position.

William Kedjanyi, Political Betting Analyst at Star Sports, said: “To further the volatile nature of the current political setting in the UK, the Speaker of the House of Commons, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, finds himself in the hotseat.”