Opponents of assisted dying vow to fight on as MPs back Bill
The Spen Valley MP declared 'thank goodness' after the result while Rebecca Wilcox, daughter of campaigner Dame Esther Rantzen, said it was 'wonderful' the result had come ahead of her mother's birthday.
But opponents vowed to fight on against what they called a 'deeply flawed Bill'.
A group of 27 Labour MPs who voted against the legislation said: 'We were elected to represent both of those groups and are still deeply concerned about the risks in this Bill of coercion of the old and discrimination against the disabled, people with anorexia and black, Asian and minority ethnic people, who we know do not receive equitable health care.
'As the Bill moves to the House of Lords it must receive the scrutiny that it needs. Not about the principles of assisted dying but its application in this deeply flawed Bill.'
But Ms Leadbeater told the PA news agency she hoped there would be no 'funny games' in the Lords, as her Bill faces further tough hurdles in the upper chamber.
She added: 'I would be upset to think that anybody was playing games with such an important and such an emotional issue.'
Meanwhile, one of the leading opponents of the Bill, Conservative Danny Kruger, described its supporters as 'enemies', saying he felt 'like Evelyn Waugh at the time of the Nazi-Soviet Pact in 1939'.
In a series of tweets on Friday night, the East Wiltshire MP accused assisted dying campaigners of being 'militant anti-Christians' who had failed to 'engage with the detail of the Bill'.
He added: 'It's the revenge of the middle-aged against their dependents.'
Ms Leadbeater's Terminally Ill Adults (End Of Life) Bill will now proceed to the House of Lords, where it will undergo further scrutiny before becoming law, should peers decide to back the legislation.
But some peers have already spoken out against the legislation, with the Bishop of London, Dame Sarah Mullally, saying they 'must oppose' the Bill as 'unworkable and unsafe'.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South Wales Argus
13 minutes ago
- South Wales Argus
Sir James Cleverly to make frontbench comeback as Kemi Badenoch reshuffles team
The Leader of the Opposition is expected to reshuffle her shadow cabinet on Tuesday. A Conservative source said: 'The Leader of the Opposition will be making some changes to her frontbench team today. 'The changes reflect the next stage of the party's policy renewal programme and underline the unity of the party under new leadership. 'Sir James Cleverly is expected to return in a prominent frontbench role to take the fight to this dreadful Labour Government.' Kemi Badenoch is expected to carry out a shadow Cabinet reshuffle (Chris Radburn/PA) Sir James served as both foreign secretary and home secretary when the Conservatives were in power. He stood as a candidate in last year's Conservative leadership election, but lost out on the Tory top job ahead of the final heat between Mrs Badenoch and her now-shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick. Since the leadership contest, Sir James has returned to the Tory back benches as the MP for Braintree. He has used his influential position as a former minister to warn against pursuing populist agenda akin to Nigel Farage's Reform UK. Appearing at the Institute For Public Policy Research (IPPR) think tank last week, the senior Tory hit out at calls to 'smash the system' and 'start again from scratch', branding them 'complete nonsense'. He also appeared to take a different position on net zero from party leader Mrs Badenoch in a recent speech, urging the Conservatives to reject climate change 'luddites' on the right who believe 'the way things are now is just fine'. A list of full changes to the Conservative frontbench team will be announced on Tuesday afternoon.
Leader Live
13 minutes ago
- Leader Live
Sir James Cleverly to make frontbench comeback as Kemi Badenoch reshuffles team
The Leader of the Opposition is expected to reshuffle her shadow cabinet on Tuesday. A Conservative source said: 'The Leader of the Opposition will be making some changes to her frontbench team today. 'The changes reflect the next stage of the party's policy renewal programme and underline the unity of the party under new leadership. 'Sir James Cleverly is expected to return in a prominent frontbench role to take the fight to this dreadful Labour Government.' Sir James served as both foreign secretary and home secretary when the Conservatives were in power. He stood as a candidate in last year's Conservative leadership election, but lost out on the Tory top job ahead of the final heat between Mrs Badenoch and her now-shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick. Since the leadership contest, Sir James has returned to the Tory back benches as the MP for Braintree. He has used his influential position as a former minister to warn against pursuing populist agenda akin to Nigel Farage's Reform UK. Appearing at the Institute For Public Policy Research (IPPR) think tank last week, the senior Tory hit out at calls to 'smash the system' and 'start again from scratch', branding them 'complete nonsense'. He also appeared to take a different position on net zero from party leader Mrs Badenoch in a recent speech, urging the Conservatives to reject climate change 'luddites' on the right who believe 'the way things are now is just fine'. A list of full changes to the Conservative frontbench team will be announced on Tuesday afternoon.
North Wales Chronicle
13 minutes ago
- North Wales Chronicle
Keir Starmer keeping open mind on BBC licence fee axe
This comes as the fee, which costs £174.50 a year, comes under growing criticism in an age of greater competition. Addressing this, Culture Select Committee chair Dame Caroline challenged the Labour leader on the "regressive tax". According to The Sun, when asked about the future of the licence fee yesterday, Keir Starmer said: 'We're going through the review and it'll obviously come to its conclusion, and we keep an open mind on what we need to do with the licence fee. Keir Starmer said he was 'open-minded' about the future of the TV licence (Image: PA/Stefan Rousseau) "But we are working closely with the BBC.' The TV licence is a fee paid by households that watch, record or stream any television transmissions at the same time they are being broadcast. The fee was introduced in 1946, when TV broadcasting resumed in the aftermath of the Second World War. This licence was originally issued by the General Post Office, which was the regulator of public communications in the UK at that time. According to the TV Licensing website, the price of the fee changed last April, seeing the cost of a colour licence rise to £174.50 a year. The annual cost of the much rarer black and white TV licence is just £58.50. Those who are blind or severely sight-impaired can apply for a 50% concession on this, meaning the colour licence costs £87.25. There are also a number of other concessions and arrangements available for people living in certain types of residential care and for over-75s receiving Pension Credit.
