Latest news with #Gorton
The Guardian
16 hours ago
- Health
- The Guardian
Two more Labour MPs suggest they could vote against assisted dying bill
Two more Labour MPs have expressed significant doubts about the assisted dying bill, suggesting they would now oppose the legislation. The former health minister Andrew Gwynne, who previously abstained, wrote to his constituents in Gorton and Denton to say: 'To date I don't think that the bill has been strengthened enough and that safeguards should go much further.' Paul Foster, the Labour MP for South Ribble, who previously voted in favour, told constituents this week he also had serious concerns about the bill's safeguards, suggesting he too could vote against it when it returns to the Commons for its final vote next week. He said that following the alarm voiced by the Royal College of Psychiatrists, he was 'seriously concerned about the adequacy of the revised safeguards, particularly the removal of judicial oversight and the wider implications for vulnerable individuals'. He said: 'As we approach the final stages of this bill, I want to be clear that I will not support the legislation at third reading unless I am absolutely assured that robust and enforceable safeguards are in place to protect people from harm, pressure or coercion.' About 14 MPs who backed the bill or abstained at its second reading in November have said they are likely to vote against it. At least two others have said they will change their positions to vote for the bill, including the technology minister Chris Bryant, who previously abstained, and fellow Labour MP Jack Abbott, who previously voted against. Labour's Debbie Abrahams, the chair of the work and pensions select committee, and Josh Fenton-Glynn, who both abstained previously, say they will now vote against, and Karl Turner, who voted in favour, has said he will abstain. Those who say they play to switch from voting yes to voting against also include the former Conservative minister George Freeman and fellow Tory MPs Mike Wood and Andrew Snowden. The Tory MP Charlie Dewhirst, who previously abstained, says he will vote against. Two Liberal Democrat MPs have also switched, including the party's work and pensions spokesperson, Steve Darling, and Brian Mathew, the Melksham and Devizes MP, who said that scrutiny of the plans had left 'several concerns I feel have been inadequately answered'. The Reform UK chief whip, Lee Anderson, and his former party colleague Rupert Lowe withdrew support publicly when the bill's sponsor, Kim Leadbeater, removed the need for a high court judge to approve each procedure, instead giving this authority to an expert panel. Sign up to First Edition Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion The bill passed with a majority of 55 in November, but the numbers are expected to be significantly tighter when it returns to the Commons for third reading, scheduled for 20 June. This Friday, MPs will debate amendments to the bill for a second day. The first day of debates on amendments drawn up during a lengthy committee stage resulted in some changes being agreed, including an opt-out for all healthcare workers from being involved in assisted dying, extending the exemption that previously would have been available only to doctors. The bill drawn up by Leadbeater would allow terminally ill patients in England and Wales to end their lives if they have less than six months to live, contingent on the agreement of two doctors and an expert panel including a senior lawyer, psychiatrist and social worker.
The Advertiser
3 days ago
- General
- The Advertiser
Retired cop Gordon Gorton receives OAM in King's Birthday Honours
From his career as a police officer to his commitment to volunteering, Gordon Gorton has dedicated his life to serving the community. Now, his service has been recognised with a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in the 2025 King's Birthday Honours for service to the community through a range of service organisations. The Rutherford resident was a police officer for 35 years who was stationed across the Hunter and at Lithgow, and retired ranked chief inspector at Maitland Police Station. Mr Gorton said the honour is a very appreciated shock. "To me it means that some of the work I've done with the community over the years has been recognised," he said. "You just poke along and do what you're doing and you don't look for accolades, but when you do get an accolade like this you say 'wow, I might have done a bit'." Whether stationed in Maitland, Cessnock, Lithgow, Scone or Maclean, Mr Gorton has always become involved with local clubs like Apex, and organised many community projects like skate parks and blue light discos, and coached sporting teams. "You got respect that was the main thing, two-way respect. The community respected you and vice versa," he said. "People knew who you were, you weren't just the copper down the road, they knew who you were and your values." In 2002 he was awarded the NSW Police Diligent and Ethical Service Medal. After retiring, Mr Gorton still felt a strong calling to help the community and volunteered in a number of roles including as an official hospital visitor to mental health patients with NSW Health. He also served as a juvenile justice conference convenor with the NSW Department of Communities and Juvenile Justice. "I've always had an interest in mental health and there was an opportunity there to work as an advocate for patients in various mental health institutions, both adult and adolescents in the Hunter Valley area," he said. A former Cessnock Goannas Rugby League Football Club president, Mr Gorton is still very much a Goanna at heart despite moving to Maitland a few years ago, and is a director on the board of Cessnock Leagues Club. "Rugby league has always been an interest of mine, and also what I found too from my point of view as a policeman when you go to a particular community, you've got to get involved with that community," he said. From his career as a police officer to his commitment to volunteering, Gordon Gorton has dedicated his life to serving the community. Now, his service has been recognised with a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in the 2025 King's Birthday Honours for service to the community through a range of service organisations. The Rutherford resident was a police officer for 35 years who was stationed across the Hunter and at Lithgow, and retired ranked chief inspector at Maitland Police Station. Mr Gorton said the honour is a very appreciated shock. "To me it means that some of the work I've done with the community over the years has been recognised," he said. "You just poke along and do what you're doing and you don't look for accolades, but when you do get an accolade like this you say 'wow, I might have done a bit'." Whether stationed in Maitland, Cessnock, Lithgow, Scone or Maclean, Mr Gorton has always become involved with local clubs like Apex, and organised many community projects like skate parks and blue light discos, and coached sporting teams. "You got respect that was the main thing, two-way respect. The community respected you and vice versa," he said. "People knew who you were, you weren't just the copper down the road, they knew who you were and your values." In 2002 he was awarded the NSW Police Diligent and Ethical Service Medal. After retiring, Mr Gorton still felt a strong calling to help the community and volunteered in a number of roles including as an official hospital visitor to mental health patients with NSW Health. He also served as a juvenile justice conference convenor with the NSW Department of Communities and Juvenile Justice. "I've always had an interest in mental health and there was an opportunity there to work as an advocate for patients in various mental health institutions, both adult and adolescents in the Hunter Valley area," he said. A former Cessnock Goannas Rugby League Football Club president, Mr Gorton is still very much a Goanna at heart despite moving to Maitland a few years ago, and is a director on the board of Cessnock Leagues Club. "Rugby league has always been an interest of mine, and also what I found too from my point of view as a policeman when you go to a particular community, you've got to get involved with that community," he said. From his career as a police officer to his commitment to volunteering, Gordon Gorton has dedicated his life to serving the community. Now, his service has been recognised with a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in the 2025 King's Birthday Honours for service to the community through a range of service organisations. The Rutherford resident was a police officer for 35 years who was stationed across the Hunter and at Lithgow, and retired ranked chief inspector at Maitland Police Station. Mr Gorton said the honour is a very appreciated shock. "To me it means that some of the work I've done with the community over the years has been recognised," he said. "You just poke along and do what you're doing and you don't look for accolades, but when you do get an accolade like this you say 'wow, I might have done a bit'." Whether stationed in Maitland, Cessnock, Lithgow, Scone or Maclean, Mr Gorton has always become involved with local clubs like Apex, and organised many community projects like skate parks and blue light discos, and coached sporting teams. "You got respect that was the main thing, two-way respect. The community respected you and vice versa," he said. "People knew who you were, you weren't just the copper down the road, they knew who you were and your values." In 2002 he was awarded the NSW Police Diligent and Ethical Service Medal. After retiring, Mr Gorton still felt a strong calling to help the community and volunteered in a number of roles including as an official hospital visitor to mental health patients with NSW Health. He also served as a juvenile justice conference convenor with the NSW Department of Communities and Juvenile Justice. "I've always had an interest in mental health and there was an opportunity there to work as an advocate for patients in various mental health institutions, both adult and adolescents in the Hunter Valley area," he said. A former Cessnock Goannas Rugby League Football Club president, Mr Gorton is still very much a Goanna at heart despite moving to Maitland a few years ago, and is a director on the board of Cessnock Leagues Club. "Rugby league has always been an interest of mine, and also what I found too from my point of view as a policeman when you go to a particular community, you've got to get involved with that community," he said. From his career as a police officer to his commitment to volunteering, Gordon Gorton has dedicated his life to serving the community. Now, his service has been recognised with a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in the 2025 King's Birthday Honours for service to the community through a range of service organisations. The Rutherford resident was a police officer for 35 years who was stationed across the Hunter and at Lithgow, and retired ranked chief inspector at Maitland Police Station. Mr Gorton said the honour is a very appreciated shock. "To me it means that some of the work I've done with the community over the years has been recognised," he said. "You just poke along and do what you're doing and you don't look for accolades, but when you do get an accolade like this you say 'wow, I might have done a bit'." Whether stationed in Maitland, Cessnock, Lithgow, Scone or Maclean, Mr Gorton has always become involved with local clubs like Apex, and organised many community projects like skate parks and blue light discos, and coached sporting teams. "You got respect that was the main thing, two-way respect. The community respected you and vice versa," he said. "People knew who you were, you weren't just the copper down the road, they knew who you were and your values." In 2002 he was awarded the NSW Police Diligent and Ethical Service Medal. After retiring, Mr Gorton still felt a strong calling to help the community and volunteered in a number of roles including as an official hospital visitor to mental health patients with NSW Health. He also served as a juvenile justice conference convenor with the NSW Department of Communities and Juvenile Justice. "I've always had an interest in mental health and there was an opportunity there to work as an advocate for patients in various mental health institutions, both adult and adolescents in the Hunter Valley area," he said. A former Cessnock Goannas Rugby League Football Club president, Mr Gorton is still very much a Goanna at heart despite moving to Maitland a few years ago, and is a director on the board of Cessnock Leagues Club. "Rugby league has always been an interest of mine, and also what I found too from my point of view as a policeman when you go to a particular community, you've got to get involved with that community," he said.
Vancouver Sun
6 days ago
- Sport
- Vancouver Sun
Cowan: Canadiens seek sandpaper in building Stanley Cup contender
There's a big sign on a wall at the Toronto Maple Leafs' practice facility that reads, 'NO GRIT. NO GRIND. NO GREATNESS.' It describes perfectly why the Maple Leafs continue to struggle in the playoffs, because their 'Core Four' players — Auston Matthews , Mitch Marner , William Nylander and John Tavares — seem to lack those first two traits once the regular season comes to an end. The Leafs have won only two playoff series in nine years since selecting Matthews with the No. 1 overall pick at the 2016 NHL Entry Draft and they haven't won a Stanley Cup since 1967. The Florida Panthers are in the Stanley Cup final for the third straight year — looking to win their second straight championship — in large part because their best players have plenty of grit and grind. Sam Bennett scored two goals for the Panthers in a 4-3 overtime loss to the Oilers in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup final Wednesday in Edmonton. He leads the NHL with 12 playoff goals this year and also tops the Panthers in hits, with 87 in 18 games. Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk are also full of grit and grind, and the Panthers added Brad Marchand this season to bring even more of those two things in a trade with the Boston Bruins. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. Panthers head coach Paul Maurice had a classic quote earlier in the playoffs when asked about his team's humility off the ice and its ferociousness on it: 'Sometimes you say a prayer, sometimes you shotgun a beer. That's kind of like our team.' These playoffs have shown just how far the Canadiens still have to go in their rebuilding process if management wants to reach its goal of becoming a legitimate Stanley Cup contender for several years. The Washington Capitals beat the Canadiens in five games in the first round, then lost to the Carolina Hurricanes in five games. The Hurricanes then lost to the Panthers in five games in the Eastern Conference final. Jeff Gorton, the Canadiens' executive vice-president of hockey operations, and general manager Kent Hughes are well aware they still have much work to do. 'There's a lot of areas that we need to improve in to be a team that's still playing now,' Gorton said during a season-ending news conference . 'We could defend better. We need more scoring. We need to be bigger. We want to be more competitive. There's a lot there. We're far from a finished product.' The Canadiens had problems matching the size and physicality of the Capitals, but Gorton noted that size won't be the main measuring stick for players moving forward. 'I think everyone's talking about size and Washington and the way they played,' Gorton said. 'Certainly, we're aware of that and as we move forward, Kent and I had a lot of discussions about this … size. Compete is really the biggest thing. Making sure we have people that are comfortable in a playoff environment to play in all situations.' The compete level on the Panthers is a huge part of what makes them a special team. It's also why Florida GM Bill Zito acquired Marchand at the NHL trade deadline. 'Brad is one of the most battle-hardened forwards in NHL history and a veteran who displays a relentless compete level whenever he steps onto the ice,' Zito said after acquiring the 37-year-old Marchand in exchange for a conditional second-round pick at the 2027 NHL Entry Draft. 'A champion and a proven leader in the locker room, Brad is the right fit for our club to compete for a Stanley Cup once again.' Marchand is only 5-foot-9 and 180 pounds, but plays much bigger than that. He scored in Game 1 vs. the Oilers and has 5-10-15 totals in 18 playoff games with the Panthers to go along with a plus-11 rating. Seven years ago, the Players' Tribune published a fantastic first-person story by Marchand in which he talked about how he was never the best player on his team as a kid. He recalled a speech from his coach when he was 12 about the odds of making it to the NHL. 'There's thousands of kids like you in Canada,' the coach said. 'There's thousands more all over the world. You know what the statistics say? The statistics say that only 0.01 per cent of you will make it to the NHL.' Marchand said: 'I just always remembered that stat, and I would think to myself, 'Man, if I'm not even the best kid on my peewee team … there's no chance. How could I ever get noticed?' ' Marchand ended up getting noticed because of his compete level and his willingness to, in his words, 'do anything — literally anything — in order to win. Even if that means being hated.' 'I don't care how fast your guys are or how good your system is,' added Marchand, who won the Stanley Cup with the Bruins in 2011. 'Everybody's guys are fast. Everybody's system is good. What you need is a room full of guys who are willing to do anything.' That includes bringing lots of grit and grind.
Montreal Gazette
6 days ago
- Sport
- Montreal Gazette
Cowan: Canadiens seek sandpaper in building Stanley Cup contender
Montreal Canadiens By There's a big sign on a wall at the Toronto Maple Leafs' practice facility that reads, 'NO GRIT. NO GRIND. NO GREATNESS.' It describes perfectly why the Maple Leafs continue to struggle in the playoffs, because their 'Core Four' players — Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander and John Tavares — seem to lack those first two traits once the regular season comes to an end. The Leafs have won only two playoff series in nine years since selecting Matthews with the No. 1 overall pick at the 2016 NHL Entry Draft and they haven't won a Stanley Cup since 1967. The Florida Panthers are in the Stanley Cup final for the third straight year — looking to win their second straight championship — in large part because their best players have plenty of grit and grind. Sam Bennett scored two goals for the Panthers in a 4-3 overtime loss to the Oilers in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup final Wednesday in Edmonton. He leads the NHL with 12 playoff goals this year and also tops the Panthers in hits, with 87 in 18 games. Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk are also full of grit and grind, and the Panthers added Brad Marchand this season to bring even more of those two things in a trade with the Boston Bruins. Panthers head coach Paul Maurice had a classic quote earlier in the playoffs when asked about his team's humility off the ice and its ferociousness on it: 'Sometimes you say a prayer, sometimes you shotgun a beer. That's kind of like our team.' These playoffs have shown just how far the Canadiens still have to go in their rebuilding process if management wants to reach its goal of becoming a legitimate Stanley Cup contender for several years. The Washington Capitals beat the Canadiens in five games in the first round, then lost to the Carolina Hurricanes in five games. The Hurricanes then lost to the Panthers in five games in the Eastern Conference final. Jeff Gorton, the Canadiens' executive vice-president of hockey operations, and general manager Kent Hughes are well aware they still have much work to do. 'There's a lot of areas that we need to improve in to be a team that's still playing now,' Gorton said during a season-ending news conference. 'We could defend better. We need more scoring. We need to be bigger. We want to be more competitive. There's a lot there. We're far from a finished product.' The Canadiens had problems matching the size and physicality of the Capitals, but Gorton noted that size won't be the main measuring stick for players moving forward. 'I think everyone's talking about size and Washington and the way they played,' Gorton said. 'Certainly, we're aware of that and as we move forward, Kent and I had a lot of discussions about this … size. Compete is really the biggest thing. Making sure we have people that are comfortable in a playoff environment to play in all situations.' The compete level on the Panthers is a huge part of what makes them a special team. It's also why Florida GM Bill Zito acquired Marchand at the NHL trade deadline. 'Brad is one of the most battle-hardened forwards in NHL history and a veteran who displays a relentless compete level whenever he steps onto the ice,' Zito said after acquiring the 37-year-old Marchand in exchange for a conditional second-round pick at the 2027 NHL Entry Draft. 'A champion and a proven leader in the locker room, Brad is the right fit for our club to compete for a Stanley Cup once again.' Marchand is only 5-foot-9 and 180 pounds, but plays much bigger than that. He scored in Game 1 vs. the Oilers and has 5-10-15 totals in 18 playoff games with the Panthers to go along with a plus-11 rating. Seven years ago, the Players' Tribune published a fantastic first-person story by Marchand in which he talked about how he was never the best player on his team as a kid. He recalled a speech from his coach when he was 12 about the odds of making it to the NHL. 'There's thousands of kids like you in Canada,' the coach said. 'There's thousands more all over the world. You know what the statistics say? The statistics say that only 0.01 per cent of you will make it to the NHL.' Marchand said: 'I just always remembered that stat, and I would think to myself, 'Man, if I'm not even the best kid on my peewee team … there's no chance. How could I ever get noticed?' ' Marchand ended up getting noticed because of his compete level and his willingness to, in his words, 'do anything — literally anything — in order to win. Even if that means being hated.' 'I don't care how fast your guys are or how good your system is,' added Marchand, who won the Stanley Cup with the Bruins in 2011. 'Everybody's guys are fast. Everybody's system is good. What you need is a room full of guys who are willing to do anything.' That includes bringing lots of grit and grind.
Yahoo
04-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Former Lexington councilman latest Kentucky Dem to launch campaign for Congress
Former Lexington councilman David Kloiber is the second Democrat to announce a bid to flip Kentucky's 6th Congressional District from red to blue next year. Kloiber's plan is to bring 'common sense back to the Commonwealth' by emphasizing in Washington the importance of increasing access to affordable housing, alleviating high costs of health care, creating jobs and providing quality public education. 'Common sense means I'm focused on the core issues that impact people day-to-day,' Kloiber told the Herald-Leader ahead of his Wednesday morning launch. '... We need someone who is going to take our community's issues to Washington instead of the other way around and bringing Washington's rhetoric here.' Kloiber previously represented District 6 on the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council from 2020 until 2022. That district includes neighborhoods in the city's Winchester Road corridor, Hamburg area and parts of Bryan Station. He's a Lexington native and graduate of Lexington Catholic High School and the University of Kentucky. In 2022, he ran an unsuccessful mayoral campaign against incumbent Linda Gorton who is now in her second term. Gorton received 71% of the vote. Kloiber took second with 29%. During that race, Kloiber gave $630,000 of his own money to his campaign, much of which came from loans from his family's generational wealth and a trust in his name. Just before Election Day that year, Kloiber had raised $644,055 and Gorton had raised $152,860. In conceding, Kloiber said, 'The biggest thing has always been name recognition, just to show people that there's an alternative. Now, it's all about reaching out, making those connections, and letting people know what it would mean to vote for somebody else.' During his run for mayor, Kloiber had a similar lineup of ideas to his current run for Congress. He's said then and now the city and area lacks appropriate workforce development infrastructure like job training facilities, housing close to where people work and good schools in every neighborhood. 'All politics is local,' Kloiber said. 'And too often we get caught up in national things that might not even impact us.' The former councilman runs the Kloiber Foundation, a nonprofit providing students and teachers in Fayette County Public Schools and surrounding counties with necessary technology. Outside of that, Kloiber said he has a leadership role in an investment management firm that has bankrolled new factories, upgrades to cattle ranches, hotel renovations and helped tech companies get their start. 'I know everyone has their own reasons for being here today, but my reasons are very simple,' Kloiber said during his campaign launch speech Wednesday at Elite Printing. 'They're the same ones that have driven me to do everything I've done in my life and that's make sure the place I live is the best it can be for my kids, my family and my community. 'I'm driven to ensure that every tomorrow shows more opportunities than every today.' He said if he wins the seat, he would pull from previous job creation experience to get more Kentuckians well paying work that is compatible to the area. Everything else part of his 'core pillar,' like housing access and curbing the costs of prescriptions, would hopefully fall in line once the jobs come, he said. During his campaign launch Wednesday, Kloiber said in Congress, the 'small caucuses being able to make a large impact by figuring out where and when their votes matter' makes all the difference and is what will 'allow us to get those results-driven policies that we need here in Kentucky.' Kloiber's announcement rings similar to early campaigning from the other Democrat in the race, former Lexington state representative Cherlynn Stevenson. 'I want to follow that blueprint,' said Kloiber of the way Gov. Andy Beshear has redefined what it means to be a Democrat leading what's an otherwise Republican state. Andy Barr, the longtime congressman, has held onto the 6th District seat since 2013. Since a close three-point victory in 2018 over Democrat Amy McGrath, he has won his last three elections by an average of 24 percentage points. President Donald Trump won the district by about 15 percentage points in the last election. But as Kloiber pointed out — and is hoping will help his own campaign — Beshear previously won the district by about 20 percentage points. Kloiber said he would spend the next few summer months 'traveling the district, hearing from residents and incorporating their experiences, their problems and their solutions into a comprehensive, common sense plan that's going to put people ahead of politics.' 'I think that up until very recently, he [Barr] really did reach out and try to appeal to those common issues,' Kloiber said during his launch. 'Now, I can't speak for what he's doing in his run for Senate, but I think that by reaching out to voters where they are on the issues they care about, that's the key to success.' Kloiber's name has been floated to fill the seat after a leading campaign committee for U.S. House Democrats said Kentucky's 6th Congressional District was back in play for the party. On Tuesday, nonpartisan election predictor Sabato's Crystal Ball shifted its rating for the seat from 'safe Republican' to 'likely Republican' as more Democrats show interest in the seat and due in part to the passage of cuts to Medicaid and food assistance programs likely to impact how voters decide who represents them. The Herald-Leader previously reported Kentucky Democratic Party Executive Director Morgan Eaves has not denied interest in the job. Party chair Colmon Elridge has also been mentioned as a potential candidate. Federal prosecutor Zach Dembo and former secretary of state Allison Lundergan Grimes have also been mentioned. State Rep. Ryan Dotson, R-Winchester, has announced he's running for the seat. Republicans who could also be contenders include other state legislators like: Sen. Amanda Mays Bledsoe, R-Lexington; Rep. Deanna Gordon, R-Richmond; Rep. Matt Lockett, R-Nicholasville; and Sen. Donald Douglas, R-Nicholasville.
