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.”
The complete record
Every one of 657 lines we hold for Sir Lindsay Hoyle, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 8 of 14.
“Order. The hon. Member for Tewkesbury (Cameron Thomas) should please not walk in front of the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) when the Secretary of State is answering his question.”
“Order. Sorry about this. I do not want a complete conversation to be going on across the Chair. Mr Jopp, you are better than that. Being a Whip, you know that you are meant to set an example, not the opposite.”
“Order. These are topical questions. I am trying to get everybody in but the hon. Member is not helping me. Hopefully, he asked at least three of his questions.”
“It is very helpful to get through the questions and the Minister has done very well. Justice does matter and I think all of us represent victims of crime. The more quickly we can get through, the happier we will be. As I say, Chorley magistrates court would love to be reopened in order to help.”
“Order. As important as that is, I think the hon. Member’s point is way off the question, which is just about the Chinese embassy. I am sure he might catch my eye during topicals.”
“Order. Honestly, you cannot go on and on. In fairness, we have to limit the amount of time. I am sure the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster has got at least three of the questions.”
“Order. The hon. Member for Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr (Steve Witherden) should wait for two questions after his own before leaving the Chamber.”
“Before we come to Prime Minister’s questions, may I extend a warm welcome to the President of the Parliament of Montenegro and his delegation, who are in the Gallery today?”
“Order. I wanted, quite rightly, the Justice Secretary to be heard without comment from Opposition Front Benchers, and I certainly expect the same from Government Front Benchers in return.”
“Order. Please— [ Interruption. ] Order. It is not helpful for the right hon. Member for Sevenoaks (Laura Trott) to speak back at me either—that is completely wrong. And if we are setting educational standards, I do not think this is a good way of doing it.”
“Order. I think I have heard enough; I do not need a running commentary on whether somebody might or might not be a turkey. Okay, let us move on.”
“Order. Given that the following statement arrived late, Front-Bench Members need extra time to read it, so we will suspend the House until 3.42 pm.”
“In the light of press reports on this matter, I remind the House of the rules and conventions relating to parliamentary language. As “Erskine May” sets out, unless a discussion is based on a substantive motion, certain personal criticisms, including accusations of lying or deliberately misleading the House, are not permitted. I know that the House will want to be at its best. We take this very seriously.”
“Order. Members have to learn that they cannot run in front of other Members when they are speaking, please. It looks really bad on TV, and it is not courteous.”
“Sorry, folks, but we have run out of time. We really do need an hour for Culture, Media and Sport questions, and I know the Secretary of State agrees with me. It would be much more wonderful.”
“The Minister is quite right to be angry and frustrated at this leak. I gently say to her that, to put confidence back into the system, the answer might be a leak inquiry.”
“Order. I did appeal for brevity, so that I can try to get other Members in. If you do not want your colleagues to get in, just tell me which ones you do not want to speak! You are not helping me at the moment.”
“Before we come to Prime Minister’s questions, I welcome His Excellency the honourable Stephen Francis Smith to the Gallery. As Stephen’s term as the Australian high commissioner to the UK comes to an end, we wish him all the best in retirement. We thank him for what he has done in the UK.”
“Order. Mr Fox, you were the last voice I heard. I want to hear what the Secretary of State has to say. If you do not want to, you can go and get a cup of tea.”
“Order. We are on topical questions. The Prime Minister is in the Chamber. If you do not want Members to get in, please tell me; it would be easier.”
“I look forward to seeing its report earlier rather than later. I would also point out that the country expects the Budget to come out on Budget day. It does nothing for the City and it does nothing for how people view this Chamber if it does not. We will leave it there.”
“It is frustrating for me and all Back Benchers, because everything should be heard here in the Chamber first. The Budget should be sacrosanct; it should be heard only on Budget day. What I would say is that it makes a change for Budget speculation to at least come to the Chamber, as that is quite out of the ordinary at the moment. I thank the right hon. Member for giving notice of his point of order. As I have said on a number of occasions in recent weeks, the Government’s own ministerial code states that major announcements should be made in the House in the first instance, not in the media. We had an urgent question yesterday on this issue. The Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee has been conducting an inquiry into ministerial statements and the ministerial code.”
“Order. I am sorry but that is just not within the rules of the House. I do not expect this from somebody who is so well established here. The right hon. Gentleman may by all means raise a point of order straight after the statement if it relates to the topic, but the rules of the House come first. I call Stella Creasy.”
“Just to help Members, let me explain that this is a Cambridgeshire question so I am calling Cambridgeshire MPs, not anybody else. And here is a good Cambridgeshire MP, Daniel Zeichner.”
“Order. I thank the Minister who has been sent here, for coming to the House. Once again I must remind Ministers of the requirement in the Government’s own ministerial code that major announcements should be made in the House in the first instance, not in the media. I understand that media announcements must be managed carefully as long as the expectations remain as they are in the ministerial code. That is the problem. It is the ministerial code that is being broken. I will continue to uphold the rights of this House and its Members to be treated with respect and to be first to hear any major announcements. Unfortunately, last week, when I also had to criticise Ministers, some of them decided to make comments about “having a bugle”.”
“Order. The question is about driving tests, so as important as that matter is, the hon. Member would do better to try during topical questions.”
“The ministerial code is not fit for purpose if this continues to happen, so I hope that it will be used, and that Ministers will take it seriously. Please, as I stated yesterday: matters relating to the defence of the realm should always come to this House first.”
“Before we come to the urgent question, I once again remind Ministers of the requirement in the Government’s own ministerial code that major announcements be made to the House in the first instance, not the media. This applies to Secretaries of State. It is disappointing that the Secretary of State for Defence made a speech on television yesterday, yet no statement from the Government has been made in this House. I hate to say this, but the House went up at 3 o’clock yesterday. There was a huge gap that could have been filled. This is the third time in a row from Defence that a statement has been made to the outside—to the media—rather than to the House. We are elected Members of Parliament. All Ministers serve this House, not Sky News or the BBC, so I hope that message is going back.”
“Order. I say this gently to the Minister: unfortunately, it is not a statement—that is what I had wished it would be. He is answering an urgent question, and I think that is the big problem; somehow, different Departments have decided that statements do not matter. I know that is not the Minister’s position, but I hope that people are listening and that the message about how important it is that this House comes first will go back to the Defence Secretary.”
“Before we come to Prime Minister’s questions, may I extend a warm welcome to the President of the National Council of the Slovak Republic and his delegation, who are with us in the Gallery? May I also welcome the new Chief Minister of Saint Helena?”
“It has not been brought to my attention either. I hope that those on the Treasury Bench are listening. I take this very seriously. Matters relating to the defence of the realm should always come first to this House, and I will always make arrangements for a Secretary of State to make a statement to this House on very important matters. The hon. Gentleman’s point has been heard. Who knows? Let us see. Yesterday, the Government reflected and came to the House with a statement later. Let us see if they can reflect again today on this important matter. If it was good enough for a TV interview, it is certainly good enough for this House to know. I will leave it at that.”
“I inform the House that nothing in the Lords amendments engages Commons financial privilege. After Clause 41 Collection of data on overseas students subject to visa conditions and immigration rules”
“Order. The hon. Gentleman has just walked in, and I do not think he has heard everything that has been said. That is rather unfair, and I do not expect people to do that. He should know better.”
“Order. Sorry, but one of us is going to have to sit down. Please—topical questions are meant to be short and punchy. You cannot do a full statement. I think you ought to try to catch my eye for an Adjournment debate, because this is a very important subject. Minister, I think you have got the principle of the question.”
“Order. [ Interruption. ] I am speaking to the hon. Lady. This is a very important subject, and I really do think it matters—she is absolutely right. I think such issues should be heard and discussed in the Chamber. It might be worth thinking about putting in for an urgent question, because this issue is so serious.”
“A lot of Members obviously have a keen interest in this matter, as it affects their constituencies. I am sure that those on the Treasury Bench have heard the request. I am more than happy to support that request if the Government bring it forward.”
“The Minister took 14 minutes. This is a very important subject, so I have no problem with that, but it may be helpful to say to the shadow Minister that if she needs more minutes, they are there.”
“Before we begin, I should inform the House that there is a fault with the Division Bells in the immediate vicinity of the Chamber—specifically, the officials’ corridor and the third party Whips’ area. I ask colleagues working in those areas to ensure that the annunciators are turned on while the problem with the bells is resolved.”
“Order. I’m not being funny. The idea is to ask a question. The statement will be coming later, and we are going to go through all this then. This really does not help. You can pick which colleagues from your side of the Chamber you do not want to ask a question, because they are the ones you are taking time away from.”
“Minister, it is not normal for a Budget to have been put in the press. This is the hokey-cokey Budget: one minute something is in, the next minute it is out. I am very worried. The previous Government also had to be reprimanded for leaking. It is not good policy. At one time, a Minister would have resigned if anything was released. This House should be sacrosanct, and all decisions should be heard here first. Please do pass on the message.”
“Order. Can I just say that we have had leak inquiries previously when major statements have come out? The reports may be contradicted within days, but they are obviously coming from somewhere. It is worth while thinking about it.”
“Those were very important opening statements, but these are topical questions. We have about five minutes to go, and some Members will not get in now, so I do not know why they are standing to catch my eye.”
“Order. Can I just say to the hon. Member for Romford (Andrew Rosindell) that the question was being answered, and as a senior Member, he should know better than walking in at that point?”
“Order. To help the House, I am going to run business questions until 11.45 am, as we have a lot of business today. If we can speed up the questions and answers, I hope we will get nearly everybody in. I call Baggy Shanker to give the best example.”
“I think it is important, and it might also help if Front-Bench Members asked quicker questions and gave quicker answers—not on this one, though.”
“Order. Please. Does the hon. Member want to prevent other Members from getting in, because that is what she is doing? These questions finish at 11.45 am. I think the Leader of the House must have got a grip of the question.”
“Before we come to Justice questions, and in the light of some of the discourse on social media over the past week on matters relating to criminal justice, I would like to remind Members that the way we treat each other, and the judgments we make, are important to set the tone for national debate. I therefore ask Members to consider carefully what is in good taste and in bad taste. As was set out in the Speaker’s Conference on the security of MPs, candidates and elections, we “encourage everyone to engage positively in the political process, with courtesy and respect in discussions, and grace and understanding towards those with whom they disagree.””
“If you do need longer, I am always sympathetic, as long as I know in advance, but it makes your Department look foolish if you run over, having said to me that an extension was no longer needed. It is certainly not going to make me look foolish in the future. I call the shadow Justice Secretary.”
“Can I just clear something up, which does not have to happen? First of all, I was told that the Justice Secretary needed 13 minutes. [ Interruption. ] Bear with me. I said, “You will need to ask,” and in the end, the Department came back and said, “Oh no, it’s 10 minutes.” That statement was not 10 minutes; it was almost 12 minutes. I will work with Ministers and Secretaries of State, but the limit is 10 minutes. If there needs to be an extension, please ask; do not keep changing the length of time, because it is unfair to shadow Ministers when a statement runs over. The shadow Justice Secretary now has an extra minute, and the Liberal Democrat spokesperson has an extra half-minute, but in future, please stick to the rule of 10 minutes.”
“I do not want to continue the debate, and that is what we are in danger of doing. I recognise and accept that a mistake was made. I think you have corrected the record, and we will leave it at that—unless the Justice Secretary wishes to come back.”