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      Watch live: MPs cast final vote for assisted dying bill

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      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

      by

      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

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      Assisted dying bill: Why this momentous vote remains so uncertain

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      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

      by

      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

    • 188 Shares149 Views

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      Assisted dying: Why this momentous vote – with such far-reaching consequences – is still uncertain

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      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

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      Labour whip quits over Starmer’s benefits cuts

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      Keir Starmer has suffered a blow as one of his frontbench team resigned over his plans to reduce benefits, saying she could not back cuts that will hit disabled people.Vicky Foxcroft dramatically quit as a government whip and called on the prime minister to “support more disabled people into work” instead.In a letter to the prime minister, she said she could not vote for reforms that “include cuts to disabled people’s finances”.Ms Foxcroft said she could not vote for reforms that include cuts to disabled people’s finances More

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      Labour rebels say ‘you can’t suspend us all’ as they hit back at threats over benefits cuts vote

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      Rebel Labour MPs have hit back at Sir Keir Starmer after they were threatened with suspension or blacklisting for voting against his benefit cuts. Party whips have warned backbenchers they will be ruled out of government jobs and could lose the Labour whip if they reject plans to slash the welfare bill by £5bn. Sir Keir is bracing for the biggest rebellion of his leadership when MPs vote on the changes, which will remove the main disability benefit, personal independence payment (PIP), from up to 800,000 people. Keir Starmer and Liz Kendall are seeking to stave off a mass rebellion More