MP ‘will not be complicit' in approving assisted dying law in safeguards call
Labour's Naz Shah warned that the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill is 'literally a matter of life and death' and said she would not be 'complicit' in approving a law without adequate protections.
Her colleague Florence Eshalomi told the Commons that she too opposed the proposal to legislate for assisted dying, as a result of 'inadequate safeguards against the coercion of minority communities'.
Ahead of Friday's debate about the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, Ms Shah tabled an amendment so that a person would not meet the requirements for an assisted death 'solely as a result of voluntarily stopping eating or drinking'.
Kim Leadbeater, the Labour MP for Spen Valley who proposed the Bill, accepted the change.
Later in the debate, Bradford West MP Ms Shah, said she had spoken to the parents of a girl who had diabetes and complexities of anorexia.
'If the safeguards in this Bill fail, even once, it will be a young woman like Jessica who dies, it will be parents like Leslie and Neil who lose a child. That is a terrible tragedy no family should ever have to endure,' she said.
'No-one in this House will be able to say truthfully that we did not know or didn't see this coming. That is not compassion, that is abandonment.
'I will not be complicit in that and I hope this House will not be either.'
Ms Shah said: 'This is literally a matter of life and death. If this Bill passes that it doesn't have the safeguards, there's no coming back from those decisions.'
Conservative MP for Reigate Rebecca Paul said she supported Ms Shah's amendment, because it 'addresses a big risk'.
She said: 'In the case of anorexia, there are physical manifestations of the illness, such as malnutrition and diabetes, that might mean the patient meets the definition of being terminally ill, and that is the nub of the problem here.
'The Bill doesn't adequately rule out physical manifestations caused by mental illness.'
Ms Eshalomi said she had 'voted against this Bill at second reading on the grounds of inadequate safeguards against the coercion of minority communities', and added: 'I'm sad to say I'm even more worried now than I was then.'
The Vauxhall and Camberwell Green MP also said: 'It is because we recognise that if this Bill passes, it may impact everyone, not just those who may wish to die. It is not wrong or scaremongering to consider the wider family life, relationships with feelings of burdens or coercion including vulnerable women and people from the BME (black and minority ethnic) community at the end of their life.
'It is not wrong or scaremongering for us as politicians as we continue to receive correspondence from our constituents about the broken state of our NHS and social care, and for us to think carefully about a Bill which may alter the very relationship between doctors and their patients.
'It is frankly insulting to disabled people, hardworking professionals up and down the country who have raised many valid concerns about this Bill, to have it dismissed as religious beliefs.'
Addressing Ms Shah's amendment, Ms Leadbeater told the Commons she had previously 'worked with a number of people with eating disorders'.
She said: 'Eating disorders cause huge distress for individuals and their families and loved ones, but with care and with the right treatments, it is possible for people to recover and to go back to leading a full and fulfilling life.'
Ms Leadbeater said 'some people have expressed concerns that the severe physical consequences of a decision to stop eating or drinking could still enable someone to claim eligibility for assisted dying when otherwise they would not be able to do so'.
She backed the amendment subject to possible 'further drafting changes' to reduce the risk of a 'loophole'.
From the despatch box, health minister Stephen Kinnock said whether or not to approve Ms Shah's proposal was 'a policy choice for Parliament' but warned it 'risks introducing some uncertainty over a persons' eligibility for assistance under the Bill'.
He added: 'Recognising the intent of this amendment, we do not believe it would render the Bill unworkable.'
After the debate, Ms Shah revealed she was 'unbelievably' not told that her amendment would be accepted, and added: 'We shouldn't be playing games with people's lives like this.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scottish Sun
11 minutes ago
- Scottish Sun
Buoyant Sarwar pleads with PM to do more for Scots after by-election triumph
Scottish Labour leader Anas has urged Sir Keir to make the lives of Scots better to give him an 'easier' run into the 2026 Holyrood election. MUST DELIVER Buoyant Sarwar pleads with PM to do more for Scots after by-election triumph ANAS Sarwar has told Sir Keir Starmer he 'must do more' to help him convert the stunning Hamilton by-election win into kicking the SNP out of power. The Scottish Labour leader admitted the Prime Minister's rocky start to life in No10 had not been good enough on a number of fronts. 3 Anas Sarwar leader of Scottish Labour with by-election winner Davy Russell, right, and the party's deputy leader Jackie Baillie, left 3 Sir Keir Starmer And he urged Sir Keir to make the lives of Scots better to give him an 'easier' run into the 2026 Holyrood election. But Mr Sarwar — still 'buzzing' after Davy Russell's narrow victory in Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse — insisted: 'Scotland is one step closer to changing the SNP government, from booting them from office and electing a Scottish Labour government. But we still have got hard work to do. "Keir Starmer knows what he has to do as Prime Minister to improve the lives of people here in Scotland and across the UK, and he knows he has to do more, and demonstrably more, over the course of the next year. 'I want a UK Labour government to deliver for people in Scotland, and the context of that, of course, makes conversations and makes campaigns easier. 'And they recognise that they have to do more to improve people's lives.' His comments come after Scottish Labour — relegated to third place by the bookies and political commentators before last Thursday's vote — surged to victory over the SNP and Reform UK. And in an exclusive interview with The Scottish Sun on Sunday, Mr Sarwar said: 'I want to earn the right to be in government, earn the right to be First Minister. 'I want to earn the right to change the direction of our country. And that's what I'm going to try hard to do.' Mr Sarwar had cut a despondent figure in recent months after seeing his party plummet in the polls after being neck-and-neck with the Nats last year. Recent surveys before the by-election confirmed a slump from a high of 37 per cent in the constituency vote to 19 per cent, and from 34 per cent in the regional list stats to 18 per cent. Anas Sarwar reacts to Labour's shock win and reveals why voters backed the party Meanwhile the SNP has barely shifted from 33 per cent and 28 per cent support in the respective measures. The dip came after Labour trounced the Nats in last July's General Election, returning 37 MPs to Westminster after previous near wipeouts in Scotland in 2015 and 2019. Mr Sarwar struggled to defend the UK Labour government's decisions, including Chancellor Rachel Reeves axing winter fuel payments for pensioners and raising employer National Insurance contributions — which experts say heightened discontent. But he was visibly energised from the by-election win when he spoke to us after his party secured 31.6 per cent of the Hamilton vote compared to the SNP's 29.4 per cent. Mr Sarwar — who has clashed publicly and privately with Sir Keir — admitted it had been a 'challenging number of months'. He added: 'We have to have a clearer demonstration from a UK Labour government that we are improving the lives of people here in Scotland. I make no bones about that. In fairness to Keir Starmer, he makes no bones about that too. He accepts that that has to happen.' But Mr Sarwar now feels able to turn his fire on First Minister John Swinney — and also have a pop at political pundits. He said: 'I've never felt that the underlying fundamentals have changed. I've always believed they were still good for us and very bad for the SNP. 'What was deeply frustrating, and actually the by-election has helped in this, is there was this overlaying theory amongst the political commentariat and pollsters that everything was framed around a UK Labour government. What John Swinney has tried to do over the course of the last ten or 11 months is he has very deliberately retreated from the real public debate, just withdrawn anything meaningful from the government, so they just go quiet and hope the public only focus on a UK Labour government and therefore he sneaks in through the back door. 'I think that's his entire strategy. But it's burst. It's done. He's not got it. The SNP's finished. 'The question now is what replaces them. 'And ultimately that's only the Scottish Labour Party.'
The Sun
41 minutes ago
- The Sun
Grooming gangs national inquiry demands grow as Tories force vote on new probe into ‘disgusting' crimes
LABOUR MPs will be put under pressure as Tories force a vote on holding a national grooming gangs inquiry. The Conservatives are tabling an amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill which calls for a statutory inquiry into the scandal later this month. 3 3 They say Labour's plan for five local inquiries is inadequate because the scale of abuse was much wider. And they do not have the power to summon witnesses and requisition evidence. It will put Labour MPs in a tricky position as some have gone against the party to call for a national inquiry. And it could trigger a Red Wall rebellion. Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: 'We now know that these disgusting crimes were deliberately covered up by the police and local authorities simply because the majority of the perpetrators were of Pakistani heritage. 3 "The young girls - some as young as 12 - had their lives ruined. 'The cover-up has to end and those who hid these crimes held to account. 'It is disgraceful that not a single person has been punished for the cover-up. 'Every decent Labour MP who cares about this should vote for our amendment in Parliament.'
Telegraph
an hour ago
- Telegraph
NHS ‘to rely on migrants' as Government cuts British nurse training
The Government has cut funding for nursing courses in a move that risks undermining its pledge to end the NHS's reliance on foreign workers. Ministers have quietly frozen grants that are paid to universities to help them cover the higher costs of training medical workers. Critics reacted by warning that the move, which represents a real-terms cut, would ' worsen an already difficult situatio n' in the sector and 'leave us more reliant' on imported labour. It will also prompt fears of further cuts down the line, with education set to be one of the losers in Rachel Reeves's spending review this week. Universities are already struggling to keep nursing courses afloat, with research showing that many are cutting lecturer jobs to save cash. In last year's manifesto, Labour pledged to 'end the long-term reliance on overseas workers' with a 'workforce and training plan' for the NHS. However, Bridget Phillipson, the Education Secretary, has now frozen grants which are paid to universities to cover the extra costs of running medical courses. Those include courses for nursing, midwifery and 'allied health professionals' such as paramedics, radiographers and occupational therapists. In a letter to the Office for Students, she said the per-student funding levels should be kept the same as last year, representing a real-terms cut. That is part of an overall reduction of £108 million in the cash that has been made available for the Strategic Priorities Grant this year. Patricia Marquis, the executive director for the Royal College of Nursing in England, said nursing courses were already under threat from the 'financial crisis' at universities. 'A freeze in per student funding, effectively a real-terms cut, could make a bad situation worse, resulting in not only more job losses, but impacting the very financial viability of nursing courses,' she warned. 'University courses are the single biggest route into the profession, and this would be a disaster. Additional funding should be released to protect nursing courses in response to rising costs.' 'A detrimental impact' on training Vivienne Stern, the chief executive of Universities UK, also warned that the cuts to the grant risked 'worsening an already difficult situation'. She said that the move, combined with a recent decision to slash cash for apprenticeships, would have a 'detrimental impact on training our healthcare workforce'. 'Universities are committed to delivering what this country needs, including a strong and sustainable NHS workforce, and are crucial to training talent,' she said. 'We can't create a future-proof NHS workforce without long-term, sustained investment from the government.' Ms Phillipson said in her letter to the OfS that universities should prioritise funding for nursing courses as 'a strategically important subject'. She targeted grants for other courses and in particular media studies and journalism, which have been derided by some as 'Mickey Mouse' degrees. But despite that, it appears there was still only enough money in the pot for her to restrict the hit to medical courses to a real-terms cut. Laura Trott, the shadow education secretary, said the move was 'yet more evidence that Labour aren't serious about cutting immigration'. 'At a time when we should be training more British people to become nurses, they've cut teaching grants for universities and scrapped almost all higher-level apprenticeships, leaving an 11,000 shortfall in the NHS workforce plan,' she said. 'These decisions will leave us more reliant on foreign labour, when we should be training British people for British jobs.' The Department for Education is facing steep real-terms cuts to its budget when the Chancellor unveils her spending review on Wednesday. She will set out the annual funding totals that all Whitehall departments receive from next year until almost the end of the decade. Most are expecting to see their budgets squeezed to free up more cash for health and defence, which will be the two big winners. Within education, the schools budget is ring-fenced, meaning it cannot be cut. Early years provision, meanwhile, is a flagship Labour policy with the party pledging to fund the creation of 100,000 new nursery places. A Government spokesman said: 'We hugely value the work of talented nurses and midwives which is why we have prioritised Strategic Priorities Grant funding for important, high-cost courses, including nursing and midwifery, that are vital for economic growth and our Plan for Change. 'The dire situation we inherited has meant this Government must take tough decisions to put universities on a firmer financial footing and we're continuing to support them, including by increasing the amount they can charge in tuition fees. 'We are rebuilding the NHS for the benefit of patient and staff, and ensuring nursing remains an attractive career choice, including by unveiling a refreshed workforce plan to ensure we have the right staff in the right place so the NHS can be there for everyone.'
