Sir Lindsay Hoyle

Before I invite the Leader of the House to move the motion of congratulations to Tom Goldsmith, I would like to record my own brief tribute. Having joined the House in 1996, Tom has now served this place for 30 years. He has been a distinguished and authoritative presence at the Table over the past decade, including as Clerk of the House for the last three years, a role that has been the culmination of an illustrious career in the service of this House. Members may not know this, but Tom is from a proud east end family and was the first in his family to go to university. Throughout his career, he retained his connection with those roots, welcoming children from his former state school regularly to Parliament. On his appointment, he notably became the youngest Clerk of the House since John Hatsell in the 18th century. Tom joined the House as an assistant Clerk via the civil service fast stream. In the years that followed, he held numerous roles across Select Committees and procedural offices, supporting the work of the Chamber. Tom has also been secretary to the House of Commons Commission and was the first head of governance in the Office of Governance. Those roles no doubt gave him a valuable insight into the way in which an at times unorthodox organisation runs; thankfully, that did not put him off applying for the role of Clerk of the House in the years that followed. In fact, Tom hit the ground running as Clerk of the House, leading the House through the 2024 general election, with the largest turnover of MPs in living memory, prioritising safety on the estate and working alongside the director general to champion the bicameral procurement function and develop a more efficient model for the management of our estate. On a more personal note, it was immediately before Tom’s appointment as Clerk of the House when he led the Table Office that I first had the privilege of working closely alongside him. Prior to that, he had led the Committee Office and driven the setting up of the groundbreaking hybrid and virtual Committees during the covid pandemic. Tom has the procedural expertise, political nous and authority that are essential for a successful Clerk. He combines them with an exceptionally clear style of communication, which I value greatly. I am not the only one who has benefited from that: he has put those skills to good use as co-author of the most widely used popular textbook about Parliament, “How Parliament Works”. I will always be grateful for the clear and authoritative advice Tom has provided, even on those rare occasions when we have disagreed with one another.