Sir Lindsay Hoyle
MP for Chorley · Speaker · United Kingdom
“Before we start questions, I would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to the legendary Sir Billy Boston. He was a pioneer in the rugby world, switching codes from union to league, a record try scorer for Wigan, and the second highest all-time scorer of tries.”
“I inform the House that I have received letters from the hon. Member for Vauxhall and Camberwell Green (Florence Eshalomi) informing me of her resignation as Chair of the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee, the hon.”
“If there is more than one candidate in any election, the ballot will take place on Monday 14 September between 3 pm and 6 pm in the Aye Lobby. I remind Members that new rules in relation to campaigning for Select Committee Chair elections, which were proposed by the Procedure Committee, were endorsed by the House on 28 April 2026.”
“We now come to the statement from the Prime Minister. There has been a lot of speculation over the recess, and I just say that this is in accordance with the rules of government. The ministerial code is clear. For those who have asked why I have not commented, it is because it is within the rules, which I do not make.”
“Before we come to the urgent question on British Steel, can I say that I am amazed that a statement was not brought to the House on this very important matter that affects different constituencies? Nothing ever seems to change, but can the message go back that just telling me is not an answer?”
“Before we come to business questions, I wish everybody a pleasant recess. I hope we get some downtime; it seems to have been a very heavy Session so far.”
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“Before we start questions, I would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to the legendary Sir Billy Boston. He was a pioneer in the rugby world, switching codes from union to league, a record try scorer for Wigan, and the second highest all-time scorer of tries. He was a world cup winner for his country and the first ever rugby league player to receive a knighthood. He was known for the BBC documentary “The Rugby Codebreakers”. Because he was black he could not play for Wales or for Cardiff. He was an exile who had to come north. May that never happen again. I wish Billy peace in death.”
“Order. I am struggling because we only get a short time for these questions. I think we should have an hour, and I hope somebody will reflect on that.”
“Order. I am sorry, but the original question was about Palestine. What the hon. Member is saying is not relevant to that question. Let us move on.”
“Order. May I remind Members that they are meant to stand up when asking a question? We are back to school; this is the first day of term. Let’s get some memory power!”
“There is something going wrong with the House. Can we please get back to remembering our courtesies to other Members when they are asking questions?”
“Order. I think I am being instructed on who sits where. Mr Perkins, when you came through the door, you walked directly into my line of sight to Perran Moon. It blocks my vision when you walk in front of another Member. I do not like being challenged on something when I am absolutely correct.”
“May I say to the Prime Minister that I admire his answering questions in detail, but my problem is I am not going to get through the list, and then we will both be in trouble with Back Benchers?”
“If there is more than one candidate in any election, the ballot will take place on Monday 14 September between 3 pm and 6 pm in the Aye Lobby. I remind Members that new rules in relation to campaigning for Select Committee Chair elections, which were proposed by the Procedure Committee, were endorsed by the House on 28 April 2026. A briefing note with more information will be made available from the Vote Office and online.”
“I inform the House that I have received letters from the hon. Member for Vauxhall and Camberwell Green (Florence Eshalomi) informing me of her resignation as Chair of the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee, the hon. Member for Hammersmith and Chiswick (Andy Slaughter) informing me of his resignation as Chair of the Justice Committee and the hon. Member for Luton North (Sarah Owen) informing me of her resignation as Chair of the Women and Equalities Committee. I therefore declare those Chairs vacant. Nominations for the elections to fill those vacancies are now open and will close at 2.30 pm on Monday 7 September. Nomination forms will be available from the Vote Office, the Table Office and the Public Bill Office. Only Members from the Labour party may be candidates in these elections.”
“We now come to the statement from the Prime Minister. There has been a lot of speculation over the recess, and I just say that this is in accordance with the rules of government. The ministerial code is clear. For those who have asked why I have not commented, it is because it is within the rules, which I do not make. It is this House that abides by them.”
“Does wi-fi decarbonise a train? No, I do not think it does. Secretary of State, do you think it does? Because the question was about decarbonisation. You must speak to the question you were asked.”
“We have to watch out: we are tabling questions but then trying to shoehorn in others. We have seen that with the last two questions. We have to stick to the original question, to help me, because then the follow-up questions take us even further away from where we started. I call Jim Shannon, who will set a good example by bringing us back to the question.”
“Sir Bernard, we are on topical questions. You cannot just transfer your existing question to topicals. Shorten it, please, to help me get other people in. I am sure you want to hear others as well as yourself.”
“Before we come to the urgent question on British Steel, can I say that I am amazed that a statement was not brought to the House on this very important matter that affects different constituencies? Nothing ever seems to change, but can the message go back that just telling me is not an answer? This is a big issue for MPs who serve constituencies with steel jobs; it is not one that should have to be brought to the House under an urgent question.”
“Before we come to business questions, I wish everybody a pleasant recess. I hope we get some downtime; it seems to have been a very heavy Session so far. To the staff of the House, thank you for all that you do—to all our Doorkeepers, security and everybody who works here, but none more so than those who work in the Tea Room and the Dining Rooms. To those who are leaving the House, I wish you well for the future.”
“Before we come to Prime Minister’s questions, I extend a warm welcome to the Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives and his delegation, who are with us in the Gallery today. We now come to the final Prime Minister’s questions of this term, and, indeed, the final Prime Minister’s questions with the right hon. and learned Member for Holborn and St Pancras (Keir Starmer) as Prime Minister. I thank the Prime Minister for his public service and his international leadership, particularly in his steadfast support for Ukraine. I am sure that Members will want to join me in wishing him and his family well in the future. Let us hope that this Prime Minister will be bringing home an England world cup win.”
“Order. Can I just say, as the curtain has fallen and this House quite rightly cheers out the Prime Minister— [Applause.] I am sorry that we are still clapping. We do not do clapping in the House; we cheer, or hold our Order Papers up. That is the farewell that we should always give to a Prime Minister.”
“Order. Can I just remind those on the Front Bench—it is nothing personal; far from it—that you have only two minutes? Please, can we can try to stick to the rules? It makes things hard when we do not.”
“I think we are trying to keep the debate going. I do not have the ability to do what the right hon. Gentleman asks; I have the ability to agree to a recall, if the House wished for it, but I cannot create one, as we all know.”
“I will set out more on that in advance of the Home Secretary’s statement later. For now, we are thinking of Ann. On a personal level, Casa Pizza in Kennington in Lambeth is where I spent a lot of time in the evening, sharing a pizza with the one and only Ann Widdecombe. She was a friend in many ways; politically, we may not have agreed, but she was without doubt a courageous, principled politician, and all of our thoughts are with her family and friends.”
“Colleagues, before we begin today, I would like to pay tribute to Ann Widdecombe, who died in tragic, deeply troubling circumstances last week. Ann was a formidable politician and a prominent figure in public life. She was the Member of Parliament for Maidstone for 27 years, holding a number of ministerial posts in the 1990s. Ann was fierce and enjoyed robust political debate. Whether you agreed with her or not, she was principled, spoke her mind and was true to her beliefs, which were informed by her Christian faith. Ann was a close friend to David Amess, who was murdered in 2021, and both were fellow animal lovers. In the light of the ongoing police investigation, I urge Members to take care not to say anything in this House that might prejudice a future trial.”
“Order. There is no point in taking everybody. This urgent question is going to be brief, because we are going to do this again on Thursday, when we will have all the facts before us. If I had been told this earlier, this would not have happened. I call the Chair of the Select Committee.”
“To be clear for the record, there have been a lot of accusations that people have been briefed. I can assure the House that I know of no briefing—not even to me, although I had hoped to have one.”
“Before we come to the statement, I must advise the House that the case relating to Ann Widdecombe’s death is not yet sub judice, as charges have not been brought. However, a live criminal investigation is ongoing and Members should take care not to say anything in this House that might prejudice a future trial. I therefore urge Members to avoid speculating on the guilt or innocence of any person, the identity of the person who has been arrested, or the motive for the attack. Members may wish to discuss the general arrangements for the security and safety of politicians and other connected matters, but they should avoid discussing the detail of individual Members’ security arrangements.”
“Order. Just for the record, the security of every Member of Parliament is equal to me, and I assure you that there is no difference between Members. When things are brought to my attention, I do not put out there what is happening and what has been done, because we do not discuss security. But I reassure everybody that when something is mentioned to me, it is passed on to the security people to deal with. I am sorry that some people, unfortunately, do not think that I do that.”
“That completes questions. [Interruption.] Hon. Members might be disappointed, but it is not my fault—it was the length of the questions. We allowed almost 30 minutes instead of the allocated 20 minutes, so I ask Members please to look to colleagues who asked the longest questions.”
“Before we start business questions, I would like to thank David Weir, the Clerk at the Table today, who is retiring from the House after 32 years, working first in Hansard and then as a Clerk. I wish David all the best. [Hon. Members: “Hear, hear.”] He is a man of many talents—he is a writer, a playwright, a director and a producer. The strings of his bow will be played elsewhere, rather than at the Table. I say to David, thank you for all that you have done.”
“Before we come to Northern Ireland Questions, I should remind the House that the case involving Sir Jeffrey Donaldson is sub judice until sentencing. However, I am granting a limited waiver so that Members may discuss wider issues raised in the context of the case. Members should not speculate about sentencing issues.”
“Sorry about this. Can the hon. Members for Faversham and Mid Kent (Helen Whately) and for Perth and Kinross-shire (Pete Wishart) stop the little argument on the Back Benches?”
“I inform the House that I have selected the amendment in the name of the Prime Minister. I call the Opposition spokesperson to move the motion.”
“Before we begin, I would like to pay tribute to Sir George Howarth, who died last week. Sir George was the Member of Parliament for Knowsley from 1986 to 2024. He held numerous posts on Select Committees in this House, was appointed a Minister in the late 1990s, and was later a distinguished and long-serving member of the Panel of Chairs. I knew George because his father-in-law was the MP for Chorley. George was committed to getting into the House, so we all had to work on his by-election. Tragically, he got a bad back, but we had a big majority by the end of the campaign. Of course, our thoughts and prayers are with his wife Julie, his wider family, and his friends. He was a great politician, and it is another sad loss for this House.”
“Before we come to Prime Minister’s questions, I extend a warm welcome to the Speaker of the House of Representatives of Trinidad and Tobago and his delegation, who are in the Gallery today.”
“Before we come to the urgent question, I note that Members have asked me when they can see the defence investment plan report. It is odd that we cannot get it earlier. I appeal to Government: do the right thing by Members of this House and let them see the report. I am told that it is market sensitive, but if it is, why has it been all over Sky? Why has it been everywhere but this House, once again? It is unfair that Members of Parliament are not getting the report before everybody else. I put that out there; hopefully the Secretary of State for Defence will do the right thing and ensure that Members get it.”
“Until then, Tom will continue to carry out his duties as Clerk of the House. There is always a lot of work to do, and we will make sure that Tom works hard. [ Laughter. ] There will also be an opportunity before then for colleagues to recognise more formally Tom’s contribution to the House and to wish him the very best in the future.”
“In March, I announced to the House that Tom Goldsmith, current Clerk of the House and head of the House of Commons service, had given notice that he will be leaving Parliament in the autumn. I am pleased to announce that, following a competitive recruitment process, Eve Samson, current Clerk of the Journals, has been appointed as the 53rd Clerk of the House of Commons, following the approval of His Majesty the King. I am sure that Members will join me in congratulating Eve, who has many outstanding qualities to bring to this important role. Having worked in the House with great dedication for almost 40 years, she brings a wealth of experience and insight and will be a distinguished successor to Tom Goldsmith. Arrangements will be made for a comprehensive handover period before Eve formally takes up the role in November.”
“Order. We do not need to worry about what the Opposition’s position is. The question is to the Government—it is about what you are going to do. I also have a constituent who received a letter; I have to say, this is a very serious issue across the country.”
“I believe there are questions to be answered, and all MPs should be told not who will be released, but how many people may be released within their constituencies. I say to the Minister that this is bad for all MPs, and MPs rightly need to represent their constituents. The sooner we help them, the sooner this House will be in a better place. I will leave it at that for now.”
“I am sure that Ministers on the Front Bench have heard that an outstanding question should have been answered. I am quite disappointed if that is the case—it should be answered. Members of Parliament put questions down to Ministers, and Ministers are answerable to this House—not when they feel like it or when they get around to it. That is totally unacceptable. I hope that they will go back and check the records to ensure that letters and questions have been answered. But named day questions—it is in the title—should be answered on the named day. The point of order has been heard, and I am sure this issue can be rectified today. If it is not, there are many avenues, including coming back to this House.”
“If that is the case, it is once again totally unacceptable. This Government do not seem to understand that MPs on both sides of the House should hear any news first, as it is their constituents who are affected. If it is true that it is to be announced through a written ministerial statement on Monday, that is doubly unacceptable. I say to the Minister who is going to release this information that we have between now and the end of the sitting, and I am more than willing to allow them to come to this House and inform Members whose constituents will be affected. This is unfair. It is unacceptable. When will the Government get the message? There is going to be a change of Government; well, I hope the people who take over will have learned.”
“Well, at least you will not be asking a question in Business questions now you have asked that. I want to put it on the record that this situation is not acceptable. We need to ensure that MPs on all sides hear things first because I do not know whose constituencies will be affected. Do it correctly, learn, and speak to the Leader of the House—I am sure that he can make arrangements.”
“We will leave it at that. Sorry, but I am not going to be challenged like that. I think that is totally unfair. I gave a full minute and allowed you to continue. I was going to allow you to come back. I would have expected better from the shadow Leader of the House than to challenge the Chair in that way—I have never had that before. I call the Leader of the House.”
“Order. We should think about the language we are using. When we leave this Chamber, do not be surprised if constituents feel that they can use the same language against each other. Let us show a little bit more decorum and respect to each other.”
“May I repeat what I just said? Chancellor, there are lots of Government Members who need to get in. I have to get through this list. You have to help me to help them ask their questions.”
“Order. I am a little bit worried about using the language of “truth” and “facts”. In fairness, both the Minister in question and myself were told that the Secretary of State was down at Windsor last Monday. We did not know what time he was coming back; we were not told—none of us. I want us to be careful when talking about “truth” and “facts”, because I really do worry about how we attack each other in this House. In all the cases that the hon. Member has highlighted so far, the record has been corrected. This debate is about defence spending, and I am not quite sure how going back in history fits into that. Hopefully, we will get to the topic of the debate soon.”
“Order. To finish off our discussion, what I was offended by on the day in question was the calling of a Member who served in the armed forces—a gallant officer of this House—a coward. I did not think that was appropriate and I am sure that all of us will regret such comments against each other.”
“Extra time was given because I thought we would have a lot more on the G7; I did not know the statement would be all policy. Not to worry. I call the Leader of the Opposition.”
“Points of order come after urgent questions. Today is a very important day. This is about Jo Cox, bringing us together, and unity. I hope that we will have more temperate, tolerant language and respect for each other. The Jo Cox great get-together is taking place at lunchtime in Speaker’s House.”
“In remembering Jo today, I invite all the House to reflect on the words she shared during her maiden speech, when she said: “we are far more united and have far more in common than that which divides us.” —[ Official Report , 3 June 2015; Vol. 596, c. 674-75.] Our thoughts are with Jo’s family and friends on this day.”
“Colleagues, today we mark the 10th anniversary of the murder of our former colleague and friend to so many in this place, Jo Cox. Jo was proud to be the Member of Parliament for Batley and Spen. She was dedicated to serving her constituents and was a relentless campaigner for equality, human rights and social justice. Jo’s death while carrying out her constituency duties shocked Members across the House. In my role as chair of the parliamentary security committee at the time of her death, and since then as Speaker, I have made it my personal mission to improve the security and safety of Members, their families and staff, because no Member should fear carrying out their democratic duties.”
“Order. We have to be careful not to go very wide of the original question—and I think that was well wide, so I will call Rachel Hopkins to ask the next question.”