From Keir Starmer's position on immigration to an old non-stick pan: Edith Pritchett's week in Venn diagrams
From Keir Starmer's position on immigration to an old non-stick pan: Edith Pritchett's week in Venn diagrams – cartoon
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Sky News
35 minutes ago
- Sky News
Can you trust Rachel Reeves' spending review numbers?
Sky News' Sam Coates and Politico's Anne McElvoy serve up their essential guide to the day in British politics. The Home Office is the last department to finalise their budget with Chancellor Rachel Reeves ahead of Wednesday's spending review. All eyes are on Yvette Cooper and the noise that comes out of Westminster today and tomorrow that will indicate how much cash the home secretary has secured for things like policing. And, with Nigel Farage due to make a speech today, Sam and Anne catch up on a wild weekend for Reform - at the start of which party chairman Zia Yusuf resigned over a proposed ban on burkas - only for him to reverse his decision and return 48 hours later.
Sky News
an hour ago
- Sky News
More than 1,000 doctors urge MPs to vote against assisted dying bill
More than 1,000 doctors have written to MPs urging them to vote against the assisted dying bill, calling it a "real threat to both patients and the medical workforce". The bill - which is due to be voted on by MPs for a final time on 20 June - would allow terminally ill patients from England and Wales to end their lives "on their own terms", providing they have a life expectancy of six months or less. A separate bill is currently passing through the Scottish parliament. But doctors from across the NHS have written to MPs, warning them of their "serious concerns". Notable signatories include Sir John Burn, a geneticist who has led decades of cancer research, Sir Shakeel Qureshi, who was knighted for his work in paediatric cardiology, Professor Aileen Keel, the former deputy chief medical officer for Scotland, and Baroness Finlay, a Welsh doctor, professor of palliative medicine and member of the House of Lords. The letter is signed by four doctors who hold OBEs, two who have MBEs, and one CBE. The letter says that while a debate is needed on end of life care, "this bill is not the answer". It raises concerns that not enough evidence has been heard from doctors, people with disabilities and other marginalised groups. "This bill will widen inequalities, it provides inadequate safeguards and, in our collective view, is simply not safe," it goes on to say, calling it a "deeply flawed bill". 1:40 Professor Colin Rees, a member of the Royal College of Physicians working group on assisted dying, said it was the "single most important piece of healthcare legislation in 50 or 60 years". "It will have very profound consequences for the future and many doctors are really concerned that members of parliament are not hearing the views of the medical profession." He said many doctors who remain neutral, or who even support the principle of assisted dying, remain concerned about the bill. "We don't think it's a bill that is safe, that protects patients, protects families, and protects the medical workforce." What stage are the two assisted dying bills at now? The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill passed the House of Commons with a majority of 55 in November. Scotland's Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland Bill) pass with a 14 majority in May. But the legislation has not been without controversy, with 150 amendments made to get it through the first stage. The bill will return to the House of Commons for a third reading this Friday. If voted through by MPs it will then proceed to the House of Lords. 'No safeguards against coercion' One of the areas of concern raised by the medics was the inability to properly identify patients at risk of coercive control. "Vulnerable patients are at risk of coercion with women, victims of domestic abuse, and the elderly at particular risk," the letter says. It also warned it would widen social inequalities, with patients who do not have the resources for a comfortable death more likely to opt for assisted dying. "People who struggle to pay for heating or care or wish to preserve their assets for their children are at high risk of choosing to die if the option is available and the alternative is more difficult." Data from the Annual Report of Dying With Dignity from Oregon in 2024 found 9.3% of those people who choose assisted deaths do so for financial reasons. 'Doctors get it wrong 40% of the time' Concerns have also been raised around the inaccuracies of medical prognosis. "Research demonstrates that doctors get prognosis wrong around 40% of the time," the letter says. "As such, patients may end up choosing an assisted death and losing what could have been happy and fulfilling months or years of life." 1:50 The bill is also a risk to families, the letter says, as it does not require doctors to speak with family members. "A close relative may know nothing until they get a call to arrange collection of their relative's body," it says, adding that there is no mechanism for a family member to raise concerns about a request. The letter also addressed the potential impact on the medical workforce. Evidence from the Netherlands suggests "doctors feel pressurised when dealing with patient requests for assisted deaths, meaning that doctors may end up having involvement despite it being against their principles, because they want to help their patients". Doctors' letter highlight concerns about the risk to: Patients Does not necessitate treatment of depression or other remediable factors; does not protect against risk of coercion, particularly for women and the elderly; does not ensure that the assessment panel must meet the patient; will widen social inequalities, adversely affecting the socioeconomically deprived; does not take account of the inadequacies of assessing medical prognosis. Families Does not necessitate any involvement of families. The first they may know is when they are called to come and collect the body; assumes that an assisted death is 'better' than a well-managed natural death but there is little or no evidence in the literature for this assertion. Palliative care Makes it a legal right for patients to access assisted dying, but does not mandate a comparable right to be able to access other end of life services; means that patients may choose assisted dying because palliative care provision is inadequate • Places palliative care consultants (a speciality in which 80% of doctors are opposed to assisted dying) at the heart of delivering the services; ignores the fact that the UK is currently ranked higher for its palliative care services than any country that delivers assisted dying and the fact that countries that introduce assisted dying almost invariably see a decline in the quality of their palliative care services. The medical workforce Does not adequately recognise the risk of harm to doctors from delivering assisted dying; is unclear whether assisted dying should be considered a 'treatment'. Provision of adequate care Proposes a panel which is not a multidisciplinary team and will not know the patient; proposes use of drugs which are not regulated or approved and does not mandate any monitoring of their complications.
Press and Journal
an hour ago
- Press and Journal
'Stop passing the buck and help Aberdeen Raac families'
A campaigner fighting for Aberdonians caught up in the Raac housing crisis is pleading with politicians to stop passing the buck over responsibility days before another UK spending review. Torry Raac campaign supporter Raymond Davidson reacted to the blame-game between political leaders in the week the UK Chancellor is under more pressure from the Scottish Government to find funds at Westminster. In the run up to the spending review on Wednesday, SNP and Labour leaders again kept the row going in a series of letters and statements shared with the P&J. Meanwhile in Aberdeen, Balnagask homeowners are trying to convince the city council it already has the money to meet everyone's needs. Mr Davidson said the constant back-and-forth between London and Edinburgh is a distraction. 'It's like a game of pass the parcel to them,' he said. 'No one wants the music to stop and take responsibility, it just keeps going round and round. 'It's as though people don't matter in this. Politicians are playing party-political games.' One of the big problems is what happens to homeowners who bought properties with Raac which is now posing a risk. The council has a 'voluntary acquisition proposal' which would cost more than £12 million to take the homes and demolish them. For those who want to stay, a massive repair bill would fall to them personally. The share could be between £20,000 and £44,000 depending on the size of property. 'Why can't the council provide the lot?' asked Mr Davidson. 'They can spend now whatever Holyrood and Westminster are saying. 'If there's extra money down the line, fine. But that shouldn't stop them now.' A proposal from residents would see people relocated to a cluster of homes which would then be repaired at what campaigners say is a reduced cost to the taxpayer. Councillor Allard, the SNP co-leader in Aberdeen, said the local authority is already getting on with helping Raac residents – but is under no obligation to fully fund private owners. 'By law we don't need to give them anything,' he said. 'Morally, we are helping.' The full cost, regardless of what happens, should involve government help, he added. 'I don't understand why the UK Government will not pay more. It should be like the Grenfell cladding crisis and a UK-wide issue.' In the UK's Scotland Office, Labour MP Ian Murray agreed the council's voluntary purchase scheme must give homeowners 'fair compensation.' But in a letter copied to residents and the P&J, he wrote: 'While I have the utmost sympathy with what you and your neighbours are going through, our powers are limited, given this is an issue devolved to the Scottish Government, which received a record £50bn funding settlement at the Autumn Budget. 'Some of that could – and I believe should – be used to tackle this problem.' Meanwhile, the housing minister in the UK Government said Raac is 'low' in English housing so there will be no additional extra government scheme. This is crucial because if Westminster does spend extra on English housing on Wednesday, it would generate a compensating figure for use in Scotland. In a letter to his Scottish counterpart, Mr Norris said building safety and local government finance are Holyrood's responsibility. 'Any decisions on funding to support building owners to manage Raac are for the Scottish Government and impacted local authorities,' he wrote. The P&J put the UK Government position to the SNP Government. Scottish housing minister Paul McLennan said: 'Raac is a cross-UK problem, and we have been clear from the beginning that it requires a cross-UK solution. 'We have repeatedly called on the UK Government to make available a dedicated Raac remediation fund, which they have unfortunately failed to do. 'We are continuing to call on them to take action – and at next week's spending review the Chancellor has the opportunity to take action to support people affected by Raac, including those in Aberdeen. We will keep up the pressure on the UK Government on behalf of homeowners in Aberdeen and across Scotland.' The P&J asked a spokesman for the prime minister in the Commons last week if any money can be expected on Wednesday. But the spokesman would not disclose any details ahead of the statement.
