Sir Lindsay Hoyle elected new Commons Speaker as Chorley MP replaces John Bercow

Katy Clifton4 November 2019
WEST END FINAL

Get our award-winning daily news email featuring exclusive stories, opinion and expert analysis

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

Sir Lindsay Hoyle has been elected as the new Speaker of the House of Commons.

The MP for Chorley, who was one of seven candidates in the running, will replace John Bercow after he stepped down from the chair after 10 years in the role on Thursday.

Sir Lindsay will step into the role after receiving more than 50 per cent of MP's votes in the fourth round of voting in the Commons.

As he took the position of Speaker, Sir Lindsay paid tribute to his late daughter Natalie, who died suddenly in December 2017.

Lindsay Hoyle has been elected as Commons Speaker
PRU/AFP via Getty Images

In an heartfelt tribute, he said: “There is one person who’s not here, my daughter Natalie. I wish she’d have been here, we all miss her as a family, no more so than her mum.

“I’ve got to say, she was everything to all of us, she will always be missed but she will always be in our thoughts.”

Sir Lindsay Hoyle has been elected the new Commons Speaker
REUTERS

He added: “I want to hopefully show that the experience I’ve shown previously will continue.

"As I’ve promised, I will be neutral, I will be transparent.”

There were 540 votes cast in the final round, with Sir Lindsay receiving 325 votes and MP Chris Bryant receiving 213.

Sir Lindsay was then dragged to the chair by Tory MP Nigel Evans and Labour’s Caroline Flint.

Lindsay Hoyle (C) being dragged to the Speaker's chair
PRU/AFP via Getty Images

Speakers must be politically impartial, meaning Sir Lindsay will be required to resign from the Labour Party.

After being elected, Sir Lindsay paid tribute to the other candidates in the race for Speaker.

He added: “I stand by what I said, I stand firm, that I hope this House will be once a great respected House, not just in here but across the world.

“It’s the envy and we’ve got to make sure that tarnish is polished away, that the respect and tolerance that we expect from everyone who works in here will be shown and we’ll keep that in order.”

Sir Lindsay Hoyle in the Commons
PA

Congratulating Sir Lindsay after the results were announced, Boris Johnson said: “Mr Speaker, in congratulating you on your election I observe that you have prevailed over an extremely strong field and that every other candidate earlier on spoke forcibly and well.”

He added: “Speaking for myself, after long, happy years of dealing with you, I think I know what it is – and let me say, whenever any of us is preparing to speak in this Chamber, we all know there is a moment between standing up and when the Speaker calls you when your heart is in your mouth.

“And in that moment of anxiety, about whether you’re going to make a fool of yourself and so on, and indeed at the moment when we sit down amid deafening silence, the kindliness of the Speaker is absolutely critical to our confidence and the way we behave.

“And Mr Speaker, over the years I have observed that you have many good qualities, and I’m sure you will stick up for backbenchers in the way that you have proposed, and I’m sure that you will adhere to a strict Newtonian concept of time in PMQs.”

Boris Johnson in Commons
AFP via Getty Images

In his speech in the Commons earlier, Sir Lindsay opened his bid for Speaker by paying tribute to a "great hero" of his, former speaker Betty Boothroyd, who watched from the side gallery.

He highlighted his experience as a deputy speaker for nine years, and stressed the need to allow backbench MPs to hold those in power to account.

Sir Lindsay also said the Commons is "not a club" where length of service takes priority, adding: "The person who walked through that door yesterday is just as important to their constituents - their voice must be heard as well - and the pecking order ought not to be there, it is about equality."

He also vowed to push on with security reforms to keep MPs and the Commons safe.

Beaten candidate Eleanor Laing said she was “proud” of Sir Lindsay after the final results were announced.

She tweeted: “Many congratulations to Lindsay Hoyle on becoming Speaker of the House of Commons.

"We’ve worked together, as deputies, for six years and have been great friends. Proud of you! E”

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in