Markus Andrews

MPs vote in favour of historic assisted dying legislation following fierce debateYour support helps us to tell the storyFrom reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.Your support makes all the difference.CloseRead moreMPs have voted in favour of the assisted dying bill following a fierce commons debate.The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill received 330 ayes and 275 noes, a majority of 55 votes. In a sign of the level of feeling on the divisive issue, more than 160 MPs made bids to speak during Friday’s Commons debate – the first on the issue in almost a decade.The bill will now go to the committee stage where MPs can table amendments, before facing further scrutiny and votes in both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, meaning any change in the law would not be agreed until next year at the earliest.The law would allow terminally ill adults in England and Wales with less than six months to live to end their lives, subject to the approval of two doctors and a High Court judge.Warning: this article contains information that people might find distressing, including accounts of human suffering.BREAKING: MPs vote in favour of the assisted dying billMPs have voted in favour of the assisted dying bill following a fierce commons debate.The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill received 330 ayes and 275 noes.In a sign of the level of feeling on the divisive issue, more than 160 MPs made bids to speak during Friday’s Commons debate – the first on the issue in almost a decade.The bill will now go to committee stage where MPs can table amendments, before facing further scrutiny and votes in both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, meaning any change in the law would not be agreed until next year at the earliest.The law would allow terminally ill adults in England and Wales with less than six months to live to end their lives, subject to the approval of two doctors and a High Court judge. Jabed Ahmed29 November 2024 14:23Supporters of the legislation celebrate outside parliamentSupporters of the assisted dying Bill wept and hugged each other outside Parliament as the news came through that it had been passed by MPs.The crowd in Parliament Square erupted into cheers as they watched the results on their phones.Joshua Cook, 33, from Huddersfield, who has Huntington’s disease – an incurable neurodegenerative disease, said it was a “relief”.“It is a weight off my mind, as a terminally ill person, and you can just look around here, at people who are truly affected by this,” he said. “It’s a relief it’s history, finally we are getting towards having a society that shows love and compassion above the need to just keep people alive.”( More

Your support helps us to tell the storyFrom reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.Your support makes all the difference.CloseRead moreMPs have voted to pass the Terminally Ill Adults (End Of Life) Bill, allowing the assisted dying legislation to pass through to the next stages of scrutiny and amendment.The bill was passed by a majority of 55 votes.The vote followed five hours of debate this morning (November 29), with 175 MPs requesting to speak on the matter.The bill was open to a “free vote”, meaning that the party whips did not dictate whether to support or oppose the bill. Individual MPs were free to vote based on their own values and opinions of their constituents, regardless of whether they are Labour, Tory, or otherwise.Use the search bar to find how your MP voted on the bill.Among the MPs to have voted in favour of the bill included Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and former PM Rishi Sunak.Meanwhile Lib Dem leader Ed Davey, Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch and Mother of the House Diane Abbott were among those who voted against it.The private members bill, introduced by Labour MP Kim Leadbeater, was the first time MPs have been able to vote on assisted dying since 2015 when it was struck down 330 to 118. At this morning’s debate, Ms Leadbeater insisted that this was the “beginning not the end” of the conversation around assisted dying.To be eligible for assisted dying under the proposed bill, a person has to be over 18 years old, have proven mental capacity, no more than six months left to live, and the consent of two medical professionals.The assisted dying bill has sparked significant debate since it was introduced in mid-October, with strong advocates for and against the legislation. More

Your support helps us to tell the storyFrom reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.Your support makes all the difference.CloseRead moreThe new Mauritian government has ordered an independent review of the Chagos Islands agreement, The Independent understands, throwing the future of Sir Keir Starmer’s deal into even greater uncertainty.The new administration in Mauritius, which took over after elections last month, has previously expressed doubts about the terms of the agreement, with the UK’s national security adviser, Jonathan Powell, travelling to the country in an attempt to smooth over any issues. But sources in Mauritius have since told The Independent the new government feels it was “kept in the dark” over the agreement. In a statement to the Mauritian parliament on Friday, the country’s new prime minister, Navin Ramgoolam, said the details of the deal were “unknown to the new government” throughout the two years of negotiations. He announced the government would now be conducting an independent review into the terms of the agreement, the findings of which will be considered by the cabinet. The prime minister also said he has consulted external legal advisers over the deal. It comes just one day after Downing Street said there is “no discussion around renegotiating the deal”.The government announced last month it had reached a political agreement to hand over sovreignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius More

Your support helps us to tell the storyFrom reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.Your support makes all the difference.CloseRead moreGrowing support for Nigel Farage and Reform UK is the only reason Keir Starmer and his besieged Labour government remain at the top of the opinion polls, a leading pollster has claimed.As the government woke up this morning to the shock resignation of transport secretary Louise Haigh over a historic fraud conviction, the latest Techne UK tracker poll for The Independent put Labour at a one-point lead over the Tories.With 28 per cent for Labour compared to 27 per cent for the Conservatives, Sir Keir has stayed on top despite fury over the government’s Budget regarding national insurance rises and the so-called family farm tax, as well as a series of scandals involving freebies and ministerial conduct.The findings appear to confirm the initial bounce enjoyed by the Tories after Kemi Badenoch became leader has ended, with the party polling the same percentage for a third week in a row.Sir Keir Starmer lost Louise Haigh from his ministerial team on Friday More

Your support helps us to tell the storyFrom reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.Your support makes all the difference.CloseRead moreLouise Haigh became the first minister to quit Sir Keir Starmer’s government in a blow to the prime minister which has raised question marks about his judgement.The transport secretary wrote to the prime minister tendering her resignation as transport secretary after admitting she was convicted for making a false report to police over a mobile phone being stolen 10 years ago.But the episode drew questions about Sir Keir’s judgement when it emerged on Thursday night that he had appointed her to his shadow cabinet in 2020 after she had disclosed the offence to him.When the revelations broke a number of comments on social media pointed out that when Boris Johnson was fined over a Covid lockdown breach, Sir Keir had tweeted: “You cannot be a lawmaker and a lawbreaker.”Ms Louise Haigh has now stepped down as transport secretary following a letter to the prime minister More