Commons Speaker Sir Linsday Hoyle has lost the support of the Welsh nationalists after all three Plaid Cymru MPs backed a no-confidence motion in response to his handling of the Gaza ceasefire vote.
The group’s Westminster leader Liz Saville Roberts said the chaos that unravelled in the Commons last week ‘brought to light a profound disregard for smaller parties in Westminster’.
Plaid Cymru’s Ms Roberts, Hywel Williams and Ben Lake have joined 45 Conservative MPs, 37 SNP MPs and one independent member in backing a no-confidence motion, taking the total number to 86.
Losing the support of the Welsh nationalists heaps further pressure on Sir Lindsay, who sparked anger when he broke with convention last week to allow a vote on a Labour amendment to the SNP’s motion for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
The controversial decision, which infuriated SNP and Tory MPs, meant the SNP’s motion – the original focus of the debate – was not voted on. It led to some MPs walking out in protest and the Commons quickly descended into chaos.
In a letter to the Speaker, Ms Saville Roberts said the debate – on Opposition Day – was a chance for the SNP to present a motion ‘unimpeded’.
‘But their right – and indeed the whole House’s right – to vote on the original motion was quashed with little warning,’ she said.
Ms Saville Williams said she had written to the Speaker at the end of last week urging him ‘to outline how arrangements can be put in place to respect the role of smaller parties in the House, and to ensure that our voices can never again be disregarded as they were on Wednesday night’.
But after meeting with Sir Lindsay on Monday she said it was ‘clear that no changes would be considered to protect the role of smaller parties or to safeguard a diversity of voices in Parliament’.
She also slammed Sir Linsday for rejecting the SNP’s request for an emergency debate on Gaza this week and accused him of ‘reneging’ on a previous promise. The SNP had earlier accused the Speaker of ‘effectively lying’ over a possible emergency debate.
Sir Lindsay publicly apologised for his role in the meltdown in the Commons but is facing increased speculation as to whether he can continue in his role.
The Speaker’s choice to select both a Labour amendment and a Government amendment were claimed by some to be a ‘stitch-up’ to help Sir Keir Starmer avoid another revolt on the issue.
Sir Keir has since denied threatening Sir Lindsay to select Labour’s amendment, which backed an ‘immediate humanitarian ceasefire’ along with caveats over the release of Israeli hostages by Hamas.
He said he ‘simply urged’ the Speaker to have the ‘broadest possible debate’.
