Labour's Clive Lewis has been forced to retake his oath of allegiance as an MP, following an objection and omission during his first attempt. Despite having previously taken the oath three times, the hard left MP for Norwich South decided to make an issue of it in 2024. A republican, Lewis objects to the wording of the oath, which reads: "I swear by Almighty God that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to His Majesty King Charles, his heirs and successors, according to law."
Lewis prefaced his oath with the statement: "I take this oath under protest and in the hope that one day my fellow citizens will democratically decide to live in a republic". He then proceeded to omit the words 'his heirs and successors' (see video clip below).
If MPs do not complete the oath of allegiance, they cannot take their seats or salary. Sinn Fein MPs traditionally refuse the oath and therefore do not take their seats in the Commons or draw a salary.
Clive obviously didn't want to miss out on either, so when asked to retake his oath, he duly obliged - albeit with reworded protest. Lewis prefaced his second attempt to swear in with the preface: "I was elected to Parliament to represent my constituents and our country to the best of my ability to defend democracy and uphold human rights and one day I hope all members of parliament will be entitled to swear an oath of allegiance based on those values".
Lewis went on to complete the wording this time and successfully take up his seat in the Commons (see video clip below).
Lewis was not alone in protesting the oath. SDLP leader Colum Eastwood declared words of protest before and after he completed the oath. The MP for Foyle (which includes the city of Londonderry) prefaced his oath with the statement: "I read out this empty formula in order to represent my constituents, but it’s under protest". After he completed the oath, he added: "My true allegiance is to the people of Derry and to the people of Ireland."
Eastwood's colleague, Claire Hanna (Belfast South & Mid Down), voiced a similar protest: "In friendship and in hope of a reconciled new Ireland, my allegiance is to the people of Belfast South and Mid Down. I say these words in order to serve them".
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