Assisted dying bill not at ‘end of the road’, peer says as time runs short
A former Labour minister has insisted the assisted dying bill has not reached “the end of the road”, as the legislation appears likely to run out of time after organised filibustering,Charlie Falconer, who has been trying to steer the bill through the House of Lords, spoke after it was confirmed that the government would not be giving the bill further debate time in the Lords, where there are less than six days of debate left,Labour’s chief whip in the Lords, Roy Kennedy, told a parliamentary committee this week that the government would not give the terminally ill adults (end of life) bill more time before the end of the parliamentary session in May, when any legislation not yet passed automatically falls,Multiple extra days of debate have already been added in the Lords,Lord Falconer and others including Esther Rantzen, one of the bill’s highest-profile supporters, have been scathing of how opponents in the Lords have acted.
Falconer said: “The Lords prides itself on focusing on the things that matter and that most certainly is not what’s been going on here.The tragedy is that a small number of people in the Lords are blocking a bill that has passed in the Commons.”He added: “It’s not the end of the road, because the Parliament Act allows it to go through to the next session, and I’m sure that is what will happen.”He said peers should be taking note of decisions made by elected chambers, including Jersey’s states assembly which has given final approval to a bill to legalise assisted dying for terminally ill adults who live on the island.Members of the states assembly voted by 32 to 16 on Thursday in favour of the bill, which will need royal assent before it becomes law.
Falconer said: “You’ve got the Commons, the Jersey parliament and the Isle of Man parliament all passing it, and it’s the Lords that are blocking it in England and Wales.”Simon Opher, one of the Labour MPs on the bill committee who undertook its original scrutiny before the Commons vote, said “archaic filibustering tactics” were being used to frustrate the bill’s progression by “a small group of unelected peers, many of whom were rejected at the ballot box at the last election”.He called on the government to bring forward changes “so that peers can never again block a bill which has received approval from the Commons.A bill which has already been scrutinised intensely and has popular support amongst the public and the elected chamber.“This bill will return in the next parliament and supporters will invoke the parliament act to get it through,” Opher said.
“This is also a dark day for the House of Lords and for our democracy.We cannot allow our democracy to be dictated by an unelected chamber.”MPs and peers who back the assisted dying bill have been largely resigned since last month to it being “near impossible” to get it passed in the Lords in time because of procedural obstacles used by its opponents.Supporters of the bill, including its sponsor, Kim Leadbeater, held intense discussions with the government to find ways to move it to a vote in the Lords.With progress so slow, experts and MPs believe it is unlikely the legislation will even be put to a vote before the end of the session in May.
The bill would legalise assisted dying in England and Wales for people with a terminal diagnosis and with less than six months to live.If it fails, as expected, the bill’s provisions could be resurrected in the next session of parliament, and proponents say its passage could be much speedier, without the need to go through lengthy debates.Rantzen accused some peers of “blatant sabotage”.Speaking to Sky News on Thursday, she said: “This is a handful of peers putting down 1,200 amendments, not to scrutinise the bill, which is their job, but to block it.”
Netflix shares jump after walking away from Warner Bros Discovery deal, clearing way for Paramount – business live
Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the world economy and the financial markets.Every good drama needs a few twists and turns. And the race for ownership of Warner Bros Discovery has certainly delivered.Overnight, Netflix has walked way from the deal, declining to match a new, improved takeover offer from its rival, Paramount Skydance.Netflix’s hopes were blown away by Paramount lifting its offer for the whole of Warner Bros to $31 per share, beating Netflix’s bid of $27
Ocado failing to deliver on its potential as one of UK’s great technology hopes
Only six years ago, the boss of Ocado Group was writing the obituary for supermarkets as he predicted that a surge in online grocery shopping during the pandemic had brought forward the hi-tech future.“Not every store will disappear, but there will be a dramatic shift,” Tim Steiner said at the height of the Covid pandemic, when shopping from the sofa became the only option for many.Fast-forward to today and the prospect seems distant as the UK grocery technology group again slashes jobs as it battles heavy losses.Shares in the group slumped more than 6% to 220p on Thursday, as it revealed worse than expected annual losses and 1,000 job cuts, half of which are in research and development. At that price, shares are 22% above Ocado’s stock market float price of 180p in 2010 and a staggering 90% lower than their pandemic peak
Woman at heart of US trial says she was addicted to social media at age six
The young woman at the heart of the landmark trial about the addictive nature of social media testified for the first time on Thursday, saying she got hooked on YouTube starting at age six and Instagram at nine. By the time she was 10, she said, she had become depressed and was engaging in self-harm.The woman, who is now 20 and known by her initials KGM, is the lead plaintiff in an expansive lawsuit against YouTube and Meta, which owns Instagram and Facebook. The crux of the case alleges social media companies intentionally create addictive products, leading to mental health issues in young people.KGM testified on Thursday that her use of social media made her anxious and insecure, and features like beauty filters distorted her self-image
Riaz Hasan obituary
My father, Riaz Hasan, who has died aged 87, was a water resources engineer with a distinguished career working across 40 countries – in the 1970s with the British firm Halcrow and, from the 80s, at the UN and the World Bank.Originally from Hyderabad, Riaz arrived in the UK in 1965 with £3 and an A–Z, invited, like many engineers in India at that time, by the government. After completing a master’s degree in water resources at Bradford University, where he developed a love of Yorkshire pudding and received his degree from Harold Wilson (which he described as a real privilege), he embarked on his career designing life-saving, long-term water and food solutions for the most vulnerable and those affected by war, famine and natural disasters.Born in the small town of Warangal, near Hyderabad, to Mohammed, an English professor, and his wife, Khadija, Riaz went to Nizam college. He did his engineering degree at Osmania University, graduating in 1960, then got his first job at the Central Water Power Commission (CWPC) in Delhi
Australia v India: second women’s one-day cricket international – live
A perfect yorker from Kashvee catches Healy’s back foot and deflects on to the stumps. A disappointing way to go for the captain, but a great ball from Kashvee – her first ODI wicket.4th over: Australia 20-0 (Healy 6, Litchfield 14)Healy gets her first look at the strike since the first over and starts by punching one over midwicket – but not very far over! It just evades a diving Jemimah to run away for four. She scales back her risk-taking endeavours after that, with three dot balls in a row before a nice pull shot finds the gap and she gets Litchfield back on strike for a harmless defensive shot to end the over.3rd over: Australia 15-0 (Healy 1, Litchfield 14)Kashvee resumes her spell after a tight first over
Birmingham City’s owners explore moving into rugby union and buying Prem franchise
Birmingham City’s owner, Knighthead Capital Management, is among a number of American investors exploring the purchase of potential new franchises in Prem Rugby before a radical shake-up of the sport due to be ratified by the Rugby Football Union on Friday.The RFU council will vote at Twickenham on proposals to ringfence the 10-team Prem with no promotion or relegation until 2030, when a staged expansion is planned, beginning with the addition of two more teams.While former top-flight sides such as London Irish, Wasps and Worcester Warriors as well as ambitious Champ clubs like Ealing Trailfinders will be given the opportunity to apply, Prem Rugby is also keen to secure new additions. New York-based merchant bank, The Raine Group, and Deloitte have been engaged with a brief to discuss franchise opportunities with potential new owners, as well as bringing new investment into Prem Rugby itself.Knighthead is understood to have expressed interest in acquiring a franchise as the next stage of its multisport strategy that has seen it buy a 49% share in the Birmingham Phoenix Hundred franchise, and a majority share in Netball Super League club Birmingham Panthers
Tell us: how will the UK’s landline switch-off affect you or your family?
‘Unbelievably dangerous’: experts sound alarm after ChatGPT Health fails to recognise medical emergencies
Leave big tech behind! How to replace Amazon, Google, X, Meta, Apple – and more
Keen bosses, strange mistakes and a looming threat: workers on training AI to do their jobs
Twenty-year-old to testify at US trial about harm from social media addiction
Nvidia quarterly earnings show immunity to AI bubble fears as it cashes in on datacenter boom