Is Lindsay Hoyle turning into John Bercow? Mr S first asked the question in January after revealing that the Speakers’ Office had doubled in size on Hoyle’s watch. And now other outlets are running with the same theme, by looking at the Speaker’s trips abroad. It seems the man of the people rather enjoys the high life, spending £180,000 of taxpayers’ money on top-end flights, luxury hotels and chauffeur-driven cars. Talk about putting that ‘order order’ in, eh?
‘Long-Haul Hoyle’ splashed the cash on £900-a-night hotels, first-class flights and even a private plane trip to the British Overseas Territory of Montserrat, according to Freedom of Information responses by the Daily Mail. The paper reports that since 2022 Hoyle has treated himself to 19 foreign visits – setting a new record for Speaker trips in a given time frame. While the veteran parliamentarian could have opted to fly economy – when he made short trips to Dublin or Western Europe, for example – Hoyle decided not to. Well, why not, when you’re not the one paying…
Hoyle’s extravagant taste extended to his choice of accommodation too, with the ex-Labour man enjoying high-end hotels in Doha, the Cayman Islands and Los Angeles and spending thousands on chauffeured cars. Hoyle made a lavish five-day trip to the £680-a-night Westin Grand Cayman last year – on which the Speaker splurged £23,000, including £16,000 flights for himself and two staff. His jaunt to Ottawa was approached in a similar vein, with Hoyle blowing £8,500 on accommodation on top of a staggering £15,000 for flights.
For his part, the Speaker’s spokesperson has insisted he is ‘an ambassador for the House of Commons and has a responsibility to explain and promote the work of the House, and to represent it at high-profile state events and interparliamentary conferences.’ That may be the case – but given Brits are stuck in a cost-of-living crisis, perhaps Hoyle might consider toning down his tastes. After all, we all remember what happened to the last Labour Speaker…
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