PMQs - live: Starmer to face Sunak grilling as Labour MP insists assisted dying won’t put vulnerable at risk
Labour government will allow free vote by MPs on controversial assisted dying bill
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Sir Keir Starmer is set to face off against Rishi Sunak at Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) shortly before a private members bill on assisted dying is due to be formally introduced to the House of Commons.
Labour MP Kim Leadbeater, who is bringing forward the proposals, has said that disabled and vulnerable people will not be at risk from the legislation as it will apply only to terminally ill adults.
She said the end of life bill will have “stringent” criteria and the legislation was about giving “autonomy” to people at the end of their lives.
She told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: “The health inequalities in this country, the pressure that disabled people feel and the fact that they don’t feel they’ve got the same rights as other people, let’s address those issues, and I will champion those causes all day long.
“But this is about people who are terminally ill, who just want the autonomy to have the choice to end their lives in a way that they feel more comfortable with, that respects their family and their friends and their loved ones.”
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Welby warns of ‘slippery slope’ ahead of assisted dying bill
The Archbishop of Canterbury has warned of a “slippery slope” ahead of an assisted dying bill being officially introduced to Parliament.
Justin Welby told the BBC on Tuesday: “I think this approach is both dangerous and sets us in a direction which is even more dangerous, and in every other place where it’s been done, has led to a slippery slope.”
A private members bill is due to be formally introduced to the House of Commons on Wednesday described as offering choice at the end of life.
It will be brought forward by Labour MP Kim Leadbeater, who has said that any change in the law would be “potentially one of the most important changes in legislation that we will ever see in this country”.
Speaking to BBC’s Newsnight on Tuesday, the MP for Spen Valley said: “There has to be a change in the law, I’m very clear about that, but we’ve got to get the detail right.”
What is the current law in relation to assisted dying?
Assisted suicide is banned in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, with a maximum prison sentence of 14 years.
In Scotland, it is not a specific criminal offence but assisting the death of someone can leave a person open to being charged with murder or other offences.
What is assisted dying?
This, and the language used, varies depending on who you ask.
Pro-change campaigners Dignity in Dying say that assisted dying allows a person with a terminal condition the choice to control their death if they decide their suffering is unbearable.
They argue that, along with good care, dying people who are terminally ill and mentally competent adults deserve the choice to control the timing and manner of their death.
But the campaign group Care Not Killing uses the terms “assisted suicide” and “euthanasia”, and argues that the focus should be on “promoting more and better palliative care” rather than any law change.
They say legalising assisted dying could “place pressure on vulnerable people to end their lives for fear of being a financial, emotional or care burden upon others” and argue the disabled, elderly, sick or depressed could be especially at risk.
Dame Esther Rantzen urges people to write to their MPs over assisted dying legislation
Assisted dying can be “carefully legalised”, Dame Esther Rantzen has said as she urged people to write to their MP as proposed legislation is brought before the Commons for the first time in almost a decade.
The Childline founder said she is writing to her own representative in Parliament to make her case for a change in the law, telling her story of terminal illness and a wish to have a choice over the end of her life.
Dame Esther, who has stage four lung cancer, has been outspoken on the issue since revealing last December that she had joined Dignitas due to her fears around a drawn-out, painful death.
Dame Esther urged people to make their feelings known to their MPs, who will likely have a first vote on the issue at the end of November.
She said: “Please write to your MP and explain your reasons why this time they should vote for change and assisted dying should be carefully legalised.
“Tell them your story. I am writing to mine. Explain this is a life and death issue and all we are asking is the right to choose, not to shorten our lives, but to shorten our deaths.
“Your words may just make the difference. If so, thanks to you we may all, for the first time, be able to look forward with hope and confidence to a good death.”
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The former business secretary has said the Tories have “one chance” to pick the right candidate to succeed Rishi Sunak, adding that the rise of Reform UK and the Liberal Democrats is “existential” for the party.
Addressing Tories who do not support either of the right-wingers vying for the leadership, Ms Badenoch voiced concern at speculation they could hold another contest before the next election.
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UK inflation has decreased to below the 2 per cent target for the first time in over three years.
The consumer price index (CPI) has dropped to 1.7 per cent, down from 2.2. per cent in August, according to the Office for National Statistics.
The figure has beaten expert predictions, which largely estimated a more modest drop to 1.9 per cent.
It’s expected the drop will empower policymakers at the Bank of England to slightly cut interest rates in November to 4.75 per cent.
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Asked for the Prime Minister’s view on paying compensation relating to Britain’s colonial past, a Downing Street spokesperson said on Monday: “We do not pay reparations.”
The question was put forward ahead of Sir Keir meeting the Commonwealth heads of government in Samoa on 21 October.
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