Markus Andrews

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    Kim Leadbeater in tears as MPs vote in favour of assisted dying bill

    Watch the moment MPs voted in favour of the assisted dying bill which will legalise the right for terminally ill people in England and Wales to end their own life with medical assistance.Following a debate on the The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill in the House of Commons on Friday (20 June), MPs voted 314 to 219 in favour of the legislation.It will now transfer to the House of Lords for several more stages of scrutiny.Kim Leadbeater, who proposed the bill, was seen crying in the chamber as it was passed. More

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    Why assisted dying could still be thwarted

    The assisted dying bill has been passed in the House of Commons and its sponsor Kim Leadbeater has earned her place in history – but there are still a number of hurdles it needs to clear before becoming law.The legislation now goes to the House of Lords, where a large number of opponents are lying in wait.They will be emboldened by the fact that the Bill was passed in the Commons by a tiny majority of 23, half the original majority of 55. More importantly, the number of 314 is just below the 318 needed for an absolute majority in the Commons. All this paves the way for a constitutional crisis.A group of Tory peers will predictably try to cause trouble in the upper house, but the real problem could come from the cross benches.Prominent figures like Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson, the former Paralympian, and Baroness Ilora Finlay, a professor of palliative medicine, will be bringing a large number of concerns about coercion, disability rights and other issues.Kim Leadbeater proposed the bill More

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    Council tax bills could rise in richer areas to fund struggling authorities

    Council tax bills across the UK could soon see a major shake-up as a new Labour plan looks to make funding ‘fairer.’ Led by deputy prime minister Angela Rayner, the plans will ensure more government funding goes to areas with the highest need.The new approach looks to address issues in local authorities that are enforcing large council tax hikes every year while residents repeatedly see little return for this money. By making more central funds available to areas where demand is greatest, these areas will be more able to ask for lower council tax increases.However, this will likely mean that less funding will be available to areas where local services are not stretched, and residents have not been asked to pay such steep bill rises in recent years. As such, these councils could be forced to recoup the funding from maximising council tax revenue.A Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) official told The Times that the current system has resulted in “perverse outcomes, where some authorities are struggling to provide basic services whilst others are better off”.Birmingham City Council raised its council tax by 7.5 per cent this year amid funding struggles More

  • 150 Shares169 Views

    in UK Politics

    Council tax bills could rise in richer areas to fund struggling authorities

    Council tax bills across the UK could soon see a major shake-up as a new Labour plan looks to make funding ‘fairer.’ Led by deputy prime minister Angela Rayner, the plans will ensure more government funding goes to areas with the highest need.The new approach looks to address issues in local authorities that are enforcing large council tax hikes every year while residents repeatedly see little return for this money. By making more central funds available to areas where demand is greatest, these areas will be more able to ask for lower council tax increases.However, this will likely mean that less funding will be available to areas where local services are not stretched, and residents have not been asked to pay such steep bill rises in recent years. As such, these councils could be forced to recoup the funding from maximising council tax revenue.A Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) official told The Times that the current system has resulted in “perverse outcomes, where some authorities are struggling to provide basic services whilst others are better off”.Birmingham City Council raised its council tax by 7.5 per cent this year amid funding struggles More

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    Watch live: MPs cast final vote for assisted dying bill

    Watch live as MPs debate and vote on the controversial assisted dying bill for the terminally ill in the House of Commons on Friday (20 June).The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill is back for its third reading today – the first time MPs will vote on the overall piece of legislation since a historic yes vote last year.In November, MPs gave the proposal their initial backing, with 330 MPs voting in favour and 275 against.If the new amendments are voted through, the Bill – which allows terminally ill adults to get medical assistance to end their own lives – will go through to the next stage in the House of Lords.Since last year, more than a dozen MPs who backed or abstained on the Bill have said they were now likely to oppose it, with critics claiming that the Bill does not have enough protections and has been rushed throughIn a last-minute letter to all MPs on Thursday (19 June), Labour MPs Markus Campbell-Savours, Kanishka Narayan, Paul Foster and Jonathan Hinder said: “The Bill presented to MPs in November has been fundamentally changed. This is not the safest Bill in the world.“It is weaker than the one first laid in front of MPs and has been drastically weakened.” More

  • 125 Shares109 Views

    in UK Politics

    Watch live: MPs cast final vote for assisted dying bill

    Watch live as MPs debate and vote on the controversial assisted dying bill for the terminally ill in the House of Commons on Friday (20 June).The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill is back for its third reading today – the first time MPs will vote on the overall piece of legislation since a historic yes vote last year.In November, MPs gave the proposal their initial backing, with 330 MPs voting in favour and 275 against.If the new amendments are voted through, the Bill – which allows terminally ill adults to get medical assistance to end their own lives – will go through to the next stage in the House of Lords.Since last year, more than a dozen MPs who backed or abstained on the Bill have said they were now likely to oppose it, with critics claiming that the Bill does not have enough protections and has been rushed throughIn a last-minute letter to all MPs on Thursday (19 June), Labour MPs Markus Campbell-Savours, Kanishka Narayan, Paul Foster and Jonathan Hinder said: “The Bill presented to MPs in November has been fundamentally changed. This is not the safest Bill in the world.“It is weaker than the one first laid in front of MPs and has been drastically weakened.” More

  • 125 Shares139 Views

    in UK Politics

    Assisted dying bill: Why this momentous vote remains so uncertain

    The third reading and final Commons vote on Kim Leadbeater’s Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill on Friday marks a truly historic moment for parliament.The stakes are so high that entrepreneur Declan Ganley has offered a private ambulance to MP Sorcha Eastwood, who is ill with Covid, to get her to the Commons to vote against the Bill.No wonder. It has been almost six decades since MPs have considered a Bill that would cause such a profound and fundamental change in the state’s relationship with individuals and society’s attitude to life and death.An historic voteIn December Ms Leadbeater won a 55 majority on the second reading vote of her Bill, dealing with the principle rather than details, and is expected to carry a reduced majority today, although that is less certain than it was before.Terminally ill lay preacher Pamela Fisher, Labour MP Kim Leadbeater and campaigner and cancer patient Sophie Blake (Jonathan Brady/PA) More

  • 125 Shares139 Views

    in UK Politics

    Assisted dying bill: Why this momentous vote remains so uncertain

    The third reading and final Commons vote on Kim Leadbeater’s Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill on Friday marks a truly historic moment for parliament.The stakes are so high that entrepreneur Declan Ganley has offered a private ambulance to MP Sorcha Eastwood, who is ill with Covid, to get her to the Commons to vote against the Bill.No wonder. It has been almost six decades since MPs have considered a Bill that would cause such a profound and fundamental change in the state’s relationship with individuals and society’s attitude to life and death.An historic voteIn December Ms Leadbeater won a 55 majority on the second reading vote of her Bill, dealing with the principle rather than details, and is expected to carry a reduced majority today, although that is less certain than it was before.Terminally ill lay preacher Pamela Fisher, Labour MP Kim Leadbeater and campaigner and cancer patient Sophie Blake (Jonathan Brady/PA) More