Lindsay Hoyle

The son of former Labour MP Doug Hoyle (born 1930), now Baron Hoyle, and Pauline Spencer (died 1991), Hoyle was born and raised in Adlington, Lancashire.

He went to Anderton County Primary School in Adlington and Lord's College in Bolton.

Prior to being elected as an MP, he ran his own textile and screen printing business.

Sir Lindsay Harvey Hoyle (born 10 June 1957) is a British politician who has served as Speaker of the House of Commons since 2019 and as Member of Parliament (MP) for Chorley since 1997.

Before his election as Speaker, he was a member of the Labour Party.

In the 1980 local elections, Hoyle was elected as the Labour Chorley Borough Councillor for the Adlington ward, defeating the sitting Conservative.

He was re-elected four times, and served as Deputy Leader from 1994 to 1997.

In February 1996, Hoyle was chosen to stand as the Labour candidate for the Chorley constituency at the 1997 general election.

He won the election with a majority of 9,870, becoming the first Labour MP for Chorley in eighteen years.

After being elected as an MP in 1997, he ended his time on the council as the annual Mayor before stepping down at the local election in 1998.

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.

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 is currently the President of the All-Party British Gibraltar Group in Parliament (of which his father is the Treasurer) and a Vice Chair of the All-Party British Virgin Islands Group.

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".

Hoyle voted against the Lisbon Treaty in 2008.

Hoyle was elected Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons and Chairman of Ways and Means on 8 June 2010, the first time this appointment had been made by ballot of MPs, rather than by nomination of the Leader of the House.

He was appointed to the Privy Council in January 2013.

On 20 March 2013, Hoyle won wide public acclaim for his handling of the Budget proceedings, which were frequently interrupted by jeering MPs.

Hoyle is one of the few MPs who have not revealed whether they voted Leave or Remain in the 2016 referendum.

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.

Hoyle was appointed a Knight Bachelor in the 2018 New Year Honours for parliamentary and political services.

As a Labour MP, Hoyle served as Chairman of Ways and Means and Deputy Speaker to John Bercow from 2010 to 2019, before being elected as Speaker on 4 November 2019.

Hoyle was unanimously re-elected as Speaker five days after the December 2019 general election.

In February 2024, a controversial decision by Hoyle, during the SNP debate on the conflict in Gaza led to the tabling of an early day motion (EDM) that expressed no confidence in Speaker Hoyle.

The EDM has garnered 95 signatures, from a selection of cross-party MPs and effectively asks the Speaker to resign.

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.

He was unanimously confirmed as Speaker following the 2019 election.

Hoyle became the first Speaker since Sir Harry Hylton-Foster and only the third Speaker of the British House of Commons to possess a knighthood at the point of his election.