Thursday, February 22, 2024
Chaos and games amid the tragedy
The Guardian reports on the childish behaviour of MPs in the House of Commons last night over motions calling for a ceasefre in Gaza.
The paper says that Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle has apologised to MPs after the House of Commons descended into chaos when Conservative and SNP MPs walked out of the chamber in protest over his handling of the debate:
Commons Leader and Tory MP Penny Mordaunt claimed Sir Lindsay Hoyle had hijacked the debate and undermined the confidence of the House in its longstanding rules by selecting Labour’s bid to amend an SNP motion calling for an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza and Israel.
It had been expected Sir Lindsay would select just the government 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 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.
Powered by Taboola Sir Lindsay was warned by House of Commons Clerk Tom Goldsmith about the unprecedented nature of his decision ahead of the clash with MPs, the senior official saying he felt “compelled to point out that long-established conventions are not being followed in this case”.
The Speaker faced calls to resign over his decision, which sparked uproar in the chamber and shouts of “bring back Bercow” – referring to his predecessor, John Bercow.
Ms Mordaunt said he had “raised temperatures” and put MPs in a “more difficult position”.
Frankly, the behaviour of MPs is a disgrace. Whatever the merits or demerits of the motions in front of them it was incumbent on MPs to debate this with dignity, as adults. Instead they disregarded the tens of thousands of deaths in Gaza so they could play political games. Tnese people deserved better, as does the British public.
The paper says that Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle has apologised to MPs after the House of Commons descended into chaos when Conservative and SNP MPs walked out of the chamber in protest over his handling of the debate:
Commons Leader and Tory MP Penny Mordaunt claimed Sir Lindsay Hoyle had hijacked the debate and undermined the confidence of the House in its longstanding rules by selecting Labour’s bid to amend an SNP motion calling for an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza and Israel.
It had been expected Sir Lindsay would select just the government 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 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.
Powered by Taboola Sir Lindsay was warned by House of Commons Clerk Tom Goldsmith about the unprecedented nature of his decision ahead of the clash with MPs, the senior official saying he felt “compelled to point out that long-established conventions are not being followed in this case”.
The Speaker faced calls to resign over his decision, which sparked uproar in the chamber and shouts of “bring back Bercow” – referring to his predecessor, John Bercow.
Ms Mordaunt said he had “raised temperatures” and put MPs in a “more difficult position”.
Frankly, the behaviour of MPs is a disgrace. Whatever the merits or demerits of the motions in front of them it was incumbent on MPs to debate this with dignity, as adults. Instead they disregarded the tens of thousands of deaths in Gaza so they could play political games. Tnese people deserved better, as does the British public.
