MP says he is being denied communion over assisted dying vote
Mr Coghlan told BBC Radio Surrey that he and his family were not in the church in person to hear the priest, but that people who were there had contacted him to say they were "pretty appalled"."It is one thing to take a view on an MPs vote on a conscience vote in Parliament, it is quite another to go out and publicly name and shame them, as a Catholic priest, to hundreds of their constituents," he said.Mr Coghlan added that he had thought "carefully" about the vote, and that he felt "utterly disillusioned" by what had happened.
In a statement, the local diocese said the issue "was a complex one for all involved", and that it recognised "the difficult task faced by MPs in seeking to represent their constituents".It said Bishop Moth had urged clergy to write to MPs "in a private capacity" to express their concerns about the bill, and to ask them to vote against it.It added: "The Catholic Church believes in the sanctity of life and the dignity of every person."The legislation, which also needs to pass through the House of Lords, would allow terminally ill adults in England and Wales with six months or less to live to get medical assistance to end their own lives.
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Spectator
13 minutes ago
- Spectator
The Church of England must stop feeling guilty about the Reformation
Thomas More has a richly ambiguous place in our religious and political history. Like a brave hero of conscience, he defied the will of a tyrant, even unto death. A herald of modern liberty, then? Not quite. Before he found himself on the wrong end of the axe, as Lord Chancellor he calmly sent many dissidents to their death. His cause was not modern liberty, but the defence of the old version of authoritarian order. The Catholic Church calls him a saint. He is back in the news because a church in Canterbury has said it wants to exhume his remains, which the Catholic faithful are obviously keen to venerate. The surprising thing is that this church, St Dunstan's, is Anglican. As a few GCSE students still know, the Church of England was launched by the very tyrant who ordered More's death, Henry VIII. Some well-meaning types will see it as a lovely sign of harmony between the old rival traditions, that an Anglican church wants to maximise the veneration of this Catholic martyr. I don't. To me it is a sign that the Church of England lacks self-confidence. It is inclined to apologise for its birth. It is hypocritical to honour a man who wanted to strangle the CofE in its cradle. Yes, there was a bloody side to the birth of our national Church. Revolutions are bloody. You can't make a holy omelette without breaking holy eggs. Maybe it could all have happened in a slightly nicer way, but it is good that it happened. The English Reformation was a good thing. More was on the wrong side of history. You might be neither Catholic nor Protestant, and feel you have no dog in this fight. But, if you care about the tradition of British liberty, you have a puppy in this fight. For that tradition was born here, in the rather brutal national take-over of the Church. Paradoxically, the Tudor tyranny paved the way for the first major liberal state. It was the Reformation that led to a break with the medieval unity of religion and politics, which was basically a form of theocracy. It used to be part of British identity, to have some awareness of this. The Church of England should try to rekindle that awareness. Instead it is crippled with guilt about its origins. This guilt explains its current failure to sort out its divisions. In a story that is seemingly unrelated to the remains of Thomas More, the bishop of Fulham was cross with a community choir that was borrowing his church this week. He came down in his dressing gown and told them to can it. The real significance of this story is an omission in the Times report of what happened. It tells us at the end that this bishop, called Jonathan Baker, 'is responsible for episcopal oversight in the dioceses of London, Southwark and Rochester.' It sounds as if he is therefore the chief bishop of these places, which puts him on a par with the archbishops of Canterbury and York. In reality, he is responsible for the episcopal oversight of parishes in these dioceses that reject the ordination of women. The Church of England is divided, with a sub-group of bishops running a church-within-the-Church. These traditionalist bishops effectively reject the spiritual leadership of the archbishops, often declining to receive communion from them. What's the link with the More story? The Church allowed this division to emerge due its guilt at the Reformation. A Church shouldn't impose unity and force tender consciences, so let's allow the traditionalists to have their own bishops. It was a weak-minded decision, which has opened the door to opponents of homosexuality now demanding their own bishops too. The Church is disintegrating because of its victor's guilt at the excesses of Tudor times. Let it rediscover some pride in its remarkable, if a little brutal, history. And let St Dunstan's donate the remains of More to the local Catholic church.
The National
an hour ago
- The National
Time will tell whether new Scottish left-wing party has the legs
In fact, having spoken to both Phil and other enthusiasts, SLA seems at a pretty embryonic stage right now. However, they are having a crunch meeting tomorrow with members of Collective, the London-based English grouping which shares much of the same left-wing agenda. One of the people coming north for the summit is Karie Murphy, who was head honcho at Jeremy Corbyn's office before being seconded to run Labour's 2019 election campaign. Labour subsequently had their worst result since 1935. Karie, a former nurse, now self-describes as a 'political strategist'. Although they are apparently not formally part of the Corbyn/Zarah Sultana combo which launched a new party somewhat messily the other week, Collective's website does not hide its admiration for the former Labour leader. READ MORE: John Swinney brands Gaza as 'genocide' for first time as Fringe show disrupted They assert that Collective 'has captured a renewal of socialist ideas and political energy that was generated under [[Jeremy Corbyn]]'s leadership of the Labour Party. It is driven by the spirit of 'Corbynism' that can now be seen in the UK-wide mobilisation, at all levels, in opposition to Labour's rightward and authoritarian turn.' Rightward and authoritarian it may be, but there's little evidence of enthusiasm for Scottish independence, which Phil Taylor describes as one of the core principles of the new movement in Scotland. Corbyn once described indy as 'not a priority', while Keir Starmer now says it can't happen at all while he's PM. Otherwise, the list of causes the Scottish Left Alternative embraces echoes to a large extent the mantra adopted by Collective in terms of support for workers, for Gaza, an assault on the climate emergency and corporate greed. Which means more than an element of crossover with the Greens. In Taylor's view, new leadership in the Greens in both England and Scotland means that the party will be readier to accept new kids on the political block. We shall see. Thus far, all is not sweetness and light amid the Greenery. He also says that in conversations within Scotland, he's found that many people are prepared 'to leave their political baggage at the door'. The other question mark is whether or not they can make a dent in SNP support or woo back those who defected/returned to Labour the last time round. The [[SNP]] too are in the midst of internal warfare, with their leader proposing one strategy and impatient footsoldiers an entirely different one. Half of his party thinks independence needs a much stronger focus, while the other half believes getting public services right will matter more to the Holyrood electorate. At the moment, Mr Swinney seems inclined to ride both horses at once which is fine, so long as you don't fall off. The other possible bone of contention between north and south is the SLA's declaration that it will support both women's rights and those of the LGBT+ community. Of late, that issue has also made a jagged split in tartan ranks. There is no doubting Taylor's sincerity, but perhaps a question mark over his naivety. It's one thing to suggest that there are many folks on the London left who just don't understand Scotland; quite another to hope they will jettison their long-standing beliefs in the value of Unionism on the say-so of a newly registered Scottish counterpart. There will be a second meeting of SLA adherents in early October which is coming perilously close to next May's Scottish elections. And, not at all incidentally, it will take place a week before the [[SNP]] gather for their 91st conference in Aberdeen. Taylor concedes that Collective is rather more motivated by the 2029 election than next year's Holyrood variety but sees no reason why that needs to matter. In his opinion, inclusivity and transparency will be the hallmarks of the new movement in Scotland. and Collective will be relaxed about any divergence in the electoral cycle or the attendant strategies required. Yet setting out a stall for an election some four years distant is a totally different proposition from one which has to get a serious act together in a matter of months. Plus, there is no guarantee that tomorrow's summit between Collective and Scottish Left Alternative will be an entirely harmonious affair, given the known areas of likely controversy. I reminded Phil that new parties have an unfortunate habit of rising without trace, but his optimism for the notion of a Scottish Left Alternative is unshakeable. There is no doubt that many erstwhile Labour voters are downright scunnered with the party just a year into its current five-year stint; the question is whether they will scamper off into this 'electoral vehicle' or whether they will merely switch allegiance to the Scottish Greens or the [[SNP]]. Much will ride on what conclusions the [[SNP]] conference reaches (or perhaps is allowed to reach). And whether or not Scottish Labour remember the Scottish bit. Mr Swinney's latest suggestion of a constitutional convention would have had rather more merit in late 2014 when the indy troops were licking their wounds and desperate for some kind of balm. Since then, there have been many trigger points to advance independence which were ignored from a great height – Mr Swinney will remember them well as he was embedded in the leadership team at the time. One straw in the nationalist wind is the notion of reprising 'both votes SNP'. As I never tire of explaining, this is a surefire route to handing seats to Unionist parties as the imperfect hybrid proportional system we use was devised to give list options to parties who failed to have their vote share properly reflected in parliamentary numbers. It has meant, inter alia, that some of those most hostile to independence for Scotland and, for that matter, even to devolution, are able to rest their posteriors on Holyrood seats. Though 2011 might have been a triumph, it was also an aberration. All parties – especially one in power for a long time – are liable to fall out with each other, a fate which may also await a fledgling one too. After all, if there's one thing the left excels at, it's contriving to split. After which, implosion generally follows. It's also difficult to see how a Corbynite cadre based in London can offer the hand of solidarity and friendship to a similar would-be mass movement in Scotland, but one wedded to self-determination even if they share an interest in most of the other named causes, like wealth taxes and 'welfare not warfare'. Mr Taylor insists that the Scottish end of the equation is bottom-up and organic and most certainly not a mere branch office of the English operation: 'It will not be a franchise of a UK initiative.' That's an admirable ambition, and one which makes it rather more distinctively Scottish than Anas Sarwar's fiefdom. Yet you do wonder if the Scottish tail will be permitted to wag the English dog. Anyway, some of the mist will have cleared by close of play tomorrow. Then we will find out if we have a serious new player in the game, running up and down the left wing, or whether this is yet another false dawn for people of a lefty persuasion. Watch this space.
Sky News
an hour ago
- Sky News
Clampdown on social media ads for Channel crossings unveiled
Why you can trust Sky News Anyone who advertises Channel crossings or fake passports on social media could face up to five years in prison under new government plans. Research suggests about 80% of migrants arriving to the UK by small boat used internet platforms during their journey - including to contact agents linked to smuggling gangs. While it is already illegal to assist illegal immigration, ministers hope the creation of a new offence will give police more powers and disrupt business models. 1:42 Home Secretary Yvette Cooper is also planning to introduce a fast-track scheme to tackle the asylum backlog, meaning decisions will be made within weeks. It comes as official figures show more than 25,000 people have arrived on small boats so far in 2025 - a record for this point in the year. Ms Cooper said it is "immoral" for smugglers to sell false promises online, adding: "These criminals have no issue with leading migrants to life-threatening situations using brazen tactics on social media. "We are determined to do everything we can to stop them, wherever they operate." The new offence prohibiting the online promotion of Channel crossings is set to be included in the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill already going through Parliament. 0:27 Officials from the National Crime Agency already work with tech giants to remove such posts - with more than 8,000 taken offline last year. A Preston-based smuggler who was jailed for 17 years had posted videos of migrants thanking him for his help. Meanwhile, Albanian smugglers have created promotions for £12,000 "package deals" which claim to offer accommodation and a job in the UK on arrival. The Conservatives have described the measures as "too little, too late" - and say automatic deportations are the only way to tackle small boat crossings. Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said: "Labour still has no clear plan to deter illegal entry, no effective enforcement and no strategy to speed up removals. This is a panicked attempt to look tough after months of doing nothing." 0:49 It comes as protests outside hotels believed to be housing asylum seekers continue in towns and cities across the UK. Several demonstrators were detained - with police breaking up brief clashes - outside the Thistle City Barbican Hotel in north London yesterday. The government is legally required to provide accommodation and subsistence to destitute asylum seekers while their claims are being decided, most of whom are prohibited from working.
