In February 1996, Hoyle was chosen as the Labour candidate for
Chorley at the
1997 general election; he was elected to Parliament as MP for Chorley with 53% of the vote and a majority of 9,870. In the days after the death of
Diana, Princess of Wales, in August 1997, Hoyle asked for a new national children's hospital to be built as a memorial to her. A few days later, Hoyle wrote to airport operator
BAA, operators of London
Heathrow Airport, urging them to change the airport's name to Diana, Princess of Wales Airport. However, neither proposal was carried out. Hoyle served as a member of the
Trade and Industry Committee (later the
Business Committee) from 1998 to 2010 and as a member of the
European Scrutiny Committee from 2005 to 2010. He was previously the Honorary President of the All-Party British Gibraltar Group in Parliament (of which his father was the Treasurer) and a Vice Chair of the All-Party British Virgin Islands Group. Hoyle was re-elected as MP for Chorley at the
2001 general election with a decreased vote share of 52.3% and a decreased majority of 8,444. He was again re-elected at the
2005 general election with a decreased vote share of 50.7% and a decreased majority of 7,625. Hoyle clashed with then Prime Minister
Tony Blair over issues such as Gibraltar and tuition fees. Regarding those clashes, Hoyle would say "I'm not anti-Tony; he made us electable and won three times. But there are principles and promises you don't break". He is one of the few MPs who have not revealed whether they voted Leave or Remain in the 2016 referendum.
Chairman of Ways and Means At the
2010 general election, Hoyle was again re-elected with a decreased vote share of 43.2% and a decreased majority of 2,593. Hoyle was elected
Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons and
Chairman of Ways and Means on 8 June 2010, On 20 March 2013, Hoyle won wide public acclaim for his handling of the Budget proceedings, which were frequently interrupted by jeering MPs. Hoyle was again re-elected at the
2015 general election, with an increased vote share of 45.1% and an increased majority of 4,530. In February 2017, Hoyle scolded
SNP MPs for singing the
European Anthem during the vote for the
Brexit bill in the House of Commons, stating that he did not want parliament to turn into a sing-off. The same night, he had a clash with former Scottish First Minister
Alex Salmond in a heated exchange over whether Hoyle had cut off an SNP MP while speaking. In March 2017, Hoyle called on social media companies to take swifter action to crack down on offensive posts, arguing it "it could damage democracy and deter women from certain backgrounds from becoming MPs". Hoyle was in the Speaker's Chair during the
terrorist attack in Westminster on 22 March 2017, and the subsequent suspension and
lockdown of the Commons. At the snap
2017 general election, Hoyle was again re-elected with an increased vote share of 55.3% and an increased majority of 7,512. Hoyle was appointed a
Knight Bachelor in the
2018 New Year Honours for parliamentary and political services.
Speaker of the House of Commons (2019–present) in 2023 On 4 November 2019, Hoyle entered the
election for Speaker to replace
John Bercow. In the days leading up to the election, Hoyle was consistently seen by the media as the front runner. He maintained a substantial lead in the first, second, and third ballots of the election, but without reaching the required 50% to win outright. Hoyle was elected Speaker on the fourth ballot, defeating
Chris Bryant and winning 325 votes out of a total of 540 cast. Hoyle then duly received royal approbation in the
House of Lords. In accordance with convention that the Speaker's post is strictly non-partisan, following the election Hoyle rescinded his Labour membership. In his acceptance speech, Hoyle stated that "this House will change, but it will change for the better", and stated that he would be a "transparent" Speaker, also pledging to take the welfare of House of Commons staff seriously. At the
2019 general election, Hoyle was again re-elected with an increased vote share of 67.3% and an increased majority of 17,392. ,
Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, at the 20th
G7 Speaker's Meeting in 2021. On 16 October 2021, Hoyle accompanied
Boris Johnson,
Keir Starmer and
Priti Patel in laying wreaths at the church in
Leigh-on-Sea,
Essex where MP
David Amess was
murdered the day before. In September 2022, Hoyle described the
state funeral of Queen
Elizabeth II as "the most important event the world will ever see". Hoyle's comments received criticism. Graham Smith, CEO of the
republican campaign group
Republic, responded by saying that it was "one of the most stupid things the world has ever heard". In the
Indy100, Liam O'Dell wrote that Hoyle was ignoring current issues like the ongoing
cost of living crisis and
Russian invasion of Ukraine. In December 2022, Hoyle voiced opposition to his former party's plan of replacing the
House of Lords with an elected upper chamber. On 9 May 2023, Hoyle unveiled two new
stained glass windows in the
Speaker's House, at the
Palace of Westminster. One featuring his new personal coat of arms, with a rugby league ball, bees and
Lancashire roses. The other window celebrates Britain's
Coat of Arms of all three
Crown Dependencies and all sixteen
British Overseas Territories. Hoyle said at the unveiling the windows were and "will forever be tangible reminders of the strong, close links between the
United Kingdom, the overseas territories and the crown dependencies". Adding "The two windows represent part of our United Kingdom family". Hoyle was again re-elected in the
2024 general election, with an increased vote share of 74.3% and an increased majority of 20,575. On 9 July 2024 he was re-elected unopposed as speaker.
Controversies Gaza early day motion controversy On 21 February 2024, Conservative MP
William Wragg tabled an
Early day motion (EDM) in the House of Commons stating "That this House has no confidence in Mr Speaker". By 20 March the EDM had gained the support of 92 MPs, The motion effectively requests the Speaker to resign from his role. An SNP motion calling for an immediate ceasefire in
Gaza had been submitted on one of the rare
opposition days allotted to them. Hoyle was accused of breaking long-standing convention rules of the House and ignoring his own clerk's legal advice by allowing a vote on each of the amendments from the Government and the
Official Opposition (normally, when
opposition day motions are considered, only an amendment from the Government is selected). The Speaker's selection of amendments was viewed as partisan towards Labour. The Government withdrew their amendment at the last moment, ensuring that a vote would not take place in the
Division lobby, instead Labour's non-binding amendment was nodded through by default, without a vote. Hoyle later offered his regret and gave his apologies to the House and stated his intention to meet party leaders and whips, "to discuss the way forward".
The Daily Telegraph was critical of Hoyle's actions saying, "Lindsay stands accused of being partisan towards his former party — Labour" adding that Hoyle had previously "made it clear he wants to stay as Speaker after the election," the implication being that Labour would withdraw support for his re-election if their preferred amendment of a humanitarian ceasefire was denied. The Speaker was forced to deny in the Chamber that he had had a meeting with Labour advisor
Sue Gray but admitted to meeting
Keir Starmer, prior to his controversial amendment decision. Starmer said he "simply urged" the Speaker to ensure there was the "broadest possible debate" over calls for a ceasefire in Gaza. The day after the debate, the Speaker attempted to placate Flynn, by renewing his apologies and offering the SNP an emergency debate under
Standing Order 24. Flynn responded that he and his party had "no confidence" in the Speaker and he subsequently added his signature to Wragg's EDM. A "furious" Flynn said, "If 30,000 dead Palestinians aren't worthy of an emergency debate – what is?" On 27 February, three
Plaid Cymru MPs added their support to the "No confidence motion" followed in March by Independent MP
Crispin Blunt. On 46 separate occasions she rose to her feet, to catch the Speaker's attention, but was ignored. She later posted that "Hoyle had failed both the Commons and democracy." Hoyle's spokesperson responded by saying that PMQs "takes place within a limited time frame, with the Chair prioritising members who are already listed on the order paper. This week – as is often the case – there was not enough time to call all members who wanted to ask a question".
The Times reported that Hoyle had told police that Mandelson was a 'flight risk' after a visit to the
British Virgin Islands to commemorate 75 years of their territorial assembly and that this was the reason for Mandelson's arrest for
misconduct in public office earlier that week. ==Personal life==