MPs were due to vote on a Scottish National Party motion calling for an “immediate” ceasefire in Gaza. The SNP used a dedicated “opposition day” in the House of Commons to push forward the motion.
But Mr Hoyle intervened to allow the opposition Labor Party, which feared a revolt among MPs amid pressure over its response to the conflict, to table its own amendment to the motion in support of an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire”. . He spoke in soft terms about Israel's actions during the war.
Mr Hoyle's move had little precedent and was criticized on the record by the council's most senior leader, Secretary Tom Goldsmith. The decision denied the SNP, seeking to exploit labor divisions in the Gaza Strip, the opportunity to vote on its own motion on an SNP opposition day.
Hoyle's intervention also sparked anger from the ruling Conservative Party, which had planned to table its own Gaza motion but withdrew from the process in protest.
Mr Hoyle, clearly emotional, eventually apologized, but only after Labour's motion was passed. “I have tried to do what I think is right for all sides in the House,” he said amid shouts from Tory and SNP MPs.
Mr Hoyle added: “We are disappointed and apologize that we did not achieve the outcome we had hoped for.”
He has offered to meet with all party leaders to resolve the row, but that may not be enough for the SNP. Westminster Party leader Stephen Flynn told Hoyle directly: “I will try to convince you very well that your position is not now intolerable.''
