Sir Lindsay Hoyle was dragged to the Speaker’s Chair on Monday evening following his election victory in a tradition which dates back many centuries.
After being declared as the new House of Commons Speaker, Sir Lindsay was grabbed by the arms and was physically moved from the backbenches to the grand Speaker’s Chair.
Speaker-Elect Sir Lindsay Hoyle is dragged to the Speaker’s Chair by MPs.
He is being physically dragged because in times gone by, MPs were often forced to take up the position of Speaker, knowing they were likely to get beheaded by The King.#SpeakersElection pic.twitter.com/Zm3V08nKW6
— Charlie Proctor (@MonarchyUK) November 4, 2019
This bizarre tradition occurs after every Speaker Election, and indeed, John Bercow was dragged to the Chair on a number of occasions.
Historically, it was the Speaker’s job to personally communicate the opinions of MPs to the monarch.
If the monarch didn’t agree with the message being communicated, then often the Speaker would be executed.
Therefore, in the past, Speakers required a lot of persuasion to accept the post as an early death was to be expected.
The tradition has continued to the present day, and although Queen Elizabeth II is unlikely to execute any Speaker, they continue to show faux reluctance when elected.
