Today was a day of firsts for many new MPs. It was the first time the new MPs had taken their seats in the chamber.
Just before he travelled to the NATO summit in Washington DC, the Prime Minister addressed the Commons for the first time in his new position after being sworn in.
Rishi Sunak the Conservative leader took his place on the opposition benches for the first time. Sir Lindsay Hoyle, an MP with 27-years of experience behind him, was voted back in as Speaker.
The Speaker warmly welcomed the new MPs to the House, Sir Edward Leigh to his new role as Father of the House and Diane Abbott to hers as Mother of the House. These are the two MPs with the longest continuous service in the House of Commons, and while the role is an unofficial one it is an historic one. The Father presided over the election of the Speaker who was then as is traditional, dragged to his chair.
Sir Lindsay said: “To say that I had the most unusual speakership in the last Parliament is an understatement, from ensuring that the House could function during the covid pandemic—new Members might want to google the Rees-Mogg conga—to adapting technology developed during covid to allow President Zelensky to be the first world leader to broadcast to MPs in this Chamber.
“It was, of course, an honour to represent this House at the lying in state of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, to present the address to the new King in Westminster Hall, and to attend his coronation. Needless to say, in this role, you need staying power. I have already been Speaker during the tenure of three Prime Ministers, two monarchs—and one Jim Shannon!”
The Prime Minister said: “As in any new Parliament, we now have the opportunity and responsibility to put an end to a politics that has too often seemed self-serving and self-obsessed, and to replace the politics of performance with the politics of service, because service is a precondition for hope and trust, and the need to restore trust should weigh heavily on every Member here, new and returning alike. We all have a duty to show that politics can be a force for good, so whatever our political differences, it is time to turn the page, unite in a common endeavour of national renewal, and make this new Parliament a Parliament of service.”
Rishi Sunak apologised to those Conservatives who were no longer sitting behind him following the election. He said: “It is important that after 14 years in government, the Conservative party rebuilds, so we will now take up the crucial role of His Majesty’s official Opposition professionally, effectively and humbly. Restoring trust begins with remembering that being here is an opportunity to do what those we serve expect from us. In our case, that means holding the new Government to account.”
The final first was that the leader of Reform UK, Nigel Farage, addressed the House of Commons on the first occasion, talking of the contrast between Sir Lindsay Hoyle and “the little man who was there before you, who besmirched the office so dreadfully in doing his best to overturn the biggest democratic result in the history of the country”. The former Speaker was John Bercow, Conservative MP for Buckingham, who served in the position for ten years until 2019.
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