SIR Lindsay Hoyle, the newly elected Speaker of the House of Commons had been the deputy for nine years, where his no-nonsense manner led to clashes with some MPs, including telling off the SNP for singing EU anthem Ode to Joy two years ago.
The 62-year-old Labour politician, who was knighted in 2018 for parliamentary and political services, also clashed with former Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond during a Brexit debate in February 2017.
Mr Salmond accused the Deputy Speaker of cutting off SNP MP Joanna Cherry while she was speaking and the row escalated as Mr Hoyle shouted that Mr Salmond “should know better” and ordered him to “sit down”. Tempers were rising after seven hours of debate as the Brexit Bill that would trigger Article 50 reached committee stage in the Commons.
READ MORE: Sir Lindsay Hoyle elected new speaker of the House of Commons
The row occurred after the Mr Salmond raised a point of order saying: "It is quite clear that the honourable member had not resumed her seat, Sir. Being in the chair accords you many privileges but you cannot reinterpret the wishes of an honourable member who is on her feet."
Mr Hoyle responded: "As the chair I have the right to make decisions on this House. What I would say is quite rightly when I wanted to bring her in [Joanna Cherry MP], which I did ... I certainly don't expect advantages to be taken of the chair on the agreements that I make."
Referring to the Brexit Bill, he said: "It is a very serious matter, it is so serious that I want to hear what the minister has to say."
Mr Hoyle has been widely complimented for his approach to handling Budget debates, which has been part of his job as chairman of Ways and Means.
READ MORE: Sir Lindsay Hoyle elected new speaker of the House of Commons
He taught his pet parrot Boris to shout “order order!” and named his tortoise Maggie, after the late Tory Prime Minister because she had a hard shell and was "not for turning".
The Lancashire-born businessman was one of just three Labour MPs who did not declare their voting intention in the 2016 EU referendum. His Lancashire district backed Brexit by 57% to 43%.
He vowed to "tame the bear pit" of a "toxic Parliament" if elected to the role of Speaker, saying he would crack down on aggressive language.
He went to private Lord's College in Bolton and ran his own screen-printing firm before becoming an MP in 1997.
The seasoned politician was elected as Deputy Speaker of the House in a secret ballot on June 2010.
He was in the Speaker’s chair at the time of the Westminster Terror Attack of 22 March 2017 - and the subsequent lockdown of the Houses of Parliament.
After winning the final round of voting on Monday against Chris Bryant, Sir Lindsay was dragged to the chair by MPs, where he pledged to be a "neutral" Speaker.
He also paid tribute to his daughter, Natalie, who died in 2017, saying she would "always be missed".
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