Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle has told Sky News that the last few months of political turmoil have “upset” him and he wants MPs to get back to their day job of serving their constituents.
Speaking to the Beth Rigby Interviews… programme, the Chorley MP said “we’ve never seen anything like this before” following turbulence which has seen three prime ministers in two months.
He admitted the “churn was unexpected” and although he was not angry about it, he was upset.
“I get upset because, in the end, it’s about the people of this country, the government has been elected and it’s our constituents who are going to suffer,” he said.
“We’ve got to look after them and stability is what we need now.”
The Speaker has the unusual position in the House of Commons of being non-partisan and they renounce all their political affiliations when taking office as they assume the responsibility of maintaining order during debates.
Sir Lindsay, who has been in place since 2019, believes the UK should “now hopefully have a settled period” and insisted there will not be a general election soon.
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Opposition MPs have been clamouring for an election as they say there have now been two Conservative MPs – Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak – who have not been elected by the country.
He added: “There isn’t going to be an election, they’re the elected government and I just can’t see one happening soon.
“I genuinely believe people of this country need representation, I think and hope we’re going to go through a very calm period to ensure that.”
I’m not going to run around a jungle eating kangaroo’s testicles
The Speaker had some strong words for former health secretary Matt Hancock after he revealed this week he will be appearing on I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! – which got him suspended from the Tory parliamentary party.
“Would I do it? I’m a member of parliament, am I going to go running around a jungle eating kangaroo’s testicles? Absolutely not,” he said.
“No, no, I wouldn’t do it.”
But he said ultimately it is not what he thinks about the decision, it is what Mr Hancock’s constituents think as “they’re the people who matter”.
“He’ll come back and he’ll have to answer to his constituents,” he said.
“He’s made that decision and his constituents will make their voice heard, they’ll let him know what they think.”
I want this to be a workplace of respect
Sir Lindsay also spoke about allegations of abuse within parliament, saying any staff who come forward are supported and he is trying to make sure everyone is “respected and treated fairly”.
He admitted anything that “tarnishes” parliament’s image is “not good” as the general public look to politicians for leadership.
Sir Lindsay said standards “have got to improve and we have done things to make sure people can come forward”.
He added that the rules now mean people have the ability to report “without intimidation and to be assessed independently”.
“I would encourage people to report – and people are reporting now more than they were,” he said.
He added if it is serious “go straight to the police, please report them and we do support people in the house”.
“I want this to be a workplace that’s respected, we’ve been trying to ensure people are treated fairly and there’s recognition and respect for everyone.
“We’ve got to make sure everyone’s looked after, not just MPs, it’s MPs’ staff and house staff – they’re important to me.”
