MPs’ safety keeps me ‘awake at night,’ says Speaker

The last parliament had a cloud of misconduct hanging over it with suspensions of MPs, lobbying scandals and bullying allegations.

Behaviour in Parliament also needs to improve, according to Sir Lindsay.

He sees this new parliament as a fresh start and all parties needed to “swing” behind efforts to improve standards to create a “better” and “nicer Parliament”.

“How we treat each other in Parliament is reflected by the public,” he said.

Asked about holding the government to account in light of Labour’s 172-seat majority, Sir Lindsay said he would “fall out” with Prime Minister Keir Starmer if key announcements bypassed Commons scrutiny.

He said he had been given an “assurance” that when the Commons is sitting “major announcements will be made on the floor of the House”.

Sir Lindsay won a landslide victory of his own, after being re-elected unopposed by MPs in the traditional speaker’s election at the start of the new parliament.

He promised to protect the rights of smaller parties, ensuring they get a fair chance to speak.

Sir Lindsay also signalled his support for Labour’s plans to modernise the Commons, forming a committee to review parliamentary procedures.

“Modernisation is good,” he said.

“It’s about keeping tradition, but moving into a modern way of delivering,” he added.

You can listen to Ben Wright’s interview with Sir Lindsay on Westminster Hour on Radio 4 at 22:00 on Sunday, or on BBC Sounds