The dust is settling in the House of Commons after an explosive evening in the Chamber on Wednesday night. Speaker Lindsay Hoyle’s decision to upend tradition and allow a Labour amendment to an SNP motion calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza saw both Conservative and Scottish National party MPs turn on Hoyle. The Speaker has since been accused of playing favourites by helping his old party out of a jam; had the Labour amendment not been permitted, Keir Starmer would have likely faced a large rebellion and even some front bench resignations.

Over 50 MPs have signed a motion of no confidence in the Speaker

Hoyle is now facing calls to resign. So far, over 50 SNP and Tory MPs have signed a motion of no confidence in the Speaker. The SNP’s Westminster leader Stephen Flynn has said he has expressed privately to Hoyle that he and his SNP colleagues ‘do not have confidence’ in his ability to stay in post after they were denied ‘the ability to vote on a matter which is of grave concern to us’. Hoyle has now apologised twice and insisted his decision was not politically motivated but instead down to a desire to prevent Labour MPs from being harassed. In doing so, however, MPs say he made it more likely members of other parties would be.

While there are plenty of Tory MPs who would like Hoyle to vacate the post, he received important support this morning from the government. While No. 10 declined from saying whether Rishi Sunak has confidence in Hoyle at today’s lobby briefing, the Leader of the House Penny Mordaunt used Business Questions to turn her ire on Sir Keir rather than Hoyle. In a broadside against the Labour leader, Mordaunt argued Starmer had put Hoyle in an impossible position: ‘I would never have done to him what the Labour party have done to him’. Hoyle was also boosted by a supportive intervention from a senior Tory in former defence secretary Ben Wallace. Wallace warned colleagues trying to depose of Hoyle to ‘be careful what you wish for’, saying the current Speaker is by far the best of the three Wallace has served under.

Hoyle will only exit the role is if he concludes that his position is no longer tenable. The signs so far suggests that Hoyle plans to fight on – and the government as well as the Labour party are still behind him for now. In order for this to remain the case, Hoyle will need to show he can win back the confidence of those MPs who no longer trust him to fairly preside over the House.