Good morning.
Today, the terminally ill adults (end of life) bill – also known as the assisted dying bill – is returning to the House of Commons, where MPs will debate amendments ahead of a second vote.
The first vote on backbench Labour MP Kim Leadbeater’s legislation last November – which passed with 330 votes to 275 – was hailed by supporters as a historic step that would finally grant terminally ill people the freedom to make their own choice about how their lives end.
At the same time, it drew fierce opposition from religious groups and campaigners for vulnerable groups, such as advocates for people with disabilities, as well as MPs, who feared the bill did not offer the safeguards needed to ensure that the law was not abused.
Six months and one painful committee stage later, there are still big, knotty questions to be answered. As some MPs switch sides or waver in their support, Leadbeater has tabled 44 amendments to her bill in an attempt to keep backers onside.
With emotions running high, supporters and opponents have been passionately pressing their arguments ahead of today’s debate.
For today’s newsletter, I spoke to Jessica Elgot, the Guardian’s deputy political editor who has been leading our coverage of the subject in Westminster, about what she’s expecting to be debated today – and what happens next.
Five big stories
Israel-Gaza war | Israel launched a new and intense wave of airstrikes and artillery shelling on targets across Gaza on Thursday morning, killing at least 80 people, as faltering talks on a new ceasefire continued in Qatar and Donald Trump said he wanted to make the devastated territory “into a freedom zone”.
Iran | Donald Trump says Iran has “sort of” agreed to the terms of a deal on the future terms of its nuclear programme. On a visit to Doha, the US president said: “I want them to succeed. I want them to end up being a great country. But they cannot have a nuclear weapon. It is very simple really.”
Immigration | Keir Starmer has been accused of overseeing a diplomatic “embarrassment” after arriving in Albania to promote a policy of establishing “return hubs” for refused asylum seekers only for his counterpart to rule it out.
Armed forces | A general accused of failing to report evidence of war crimes committed by the SAS in Afghanistan has been appointed as the new head of the Royal Navy. Gen Sir Gwyn Jenkins replaces Adm Sir Ben Key, who was removed last week while under investigation over allegations of misconduct.
UK news | The 18-year-old great-granddaughter of a late Labour MP is being held in prison in Georgia on suspicion of drug offences. Bella Culley was believed to have gone missing in Thailand before she was detained 3,700 miles (6,000km) away in Georgia’s capital, Tbilisi, on Saturday.
In depth: ‘A lightning rod for profound, complex and divisive moral questions’
After months of high emotion, MPs will meet today to debate the changes made to the bill by its scrutiny committee and whether further amendments are needed.
When they do vote it will be a free one, with MPs being asked to use their conscience – and not their loyalty to their party – when they decide to support or oppose the bill. Should it pass, the bill will progress to the House of Lords.
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What is the timetable going forward?
Between January and March, a committee of MPs appointed by Kim Leadbeater met 29 times to consider the bill, hearing evidence from 50 expert witnesses and receiving hundreds of written submissions from the public. At the end of this nine-week committee stage, multiple amendments were proposed.
The bill had been due to face another yes-or-no vote today, but the Commons speaker, Linsday Hoyle, granted more time for the debate, meaning the only votes today will be on specific amendments that came out of the committee stage.
A second day of debate is scheduled for the 13 June, which is the earliest a crunch vote could take place. If needed, a third session would be scheduled for 20 June before the vote on the final bill.
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How much has changed since the last vote?
There have already been major changes made to the bill since MPs voted in November. As reported by Jessica in a Guardian exclusive, the role of a high court judge in approving assisted dying cases has been replaced by a panel of experts, including two doctors, a lawyer, a social worker and a psychiatrist.
“It was deemed that it just wasn’t feasible,” says Jessica. “But if there was a change designed to make MPs feel nervous, this is it, because the idea of a high court judge being involved was very reassuring to many.”
Another major change in the bill made since the last vote – and one that Leadbeater reportedly only agreed to under pressure – is an extension of the deadline for implementing any future assisted dying law from two years to four in order for the government, the NHS and other involved parties to guarantee they had the capacity to carry out their responsibilities safely.
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What are some of the most contentious issues that could be debated today?
Since the last vote, the bill has become a lightning rod for deeply divisive and complex moral, political and religious issues.
Jessica says that, going into today, there are still a huge range of issues where people have grave concerns and where opinion among MPs – and also campaigning and medical groups – is deeply divided.
Among the votes today will be amendments intended to tighten up the bill, for example adding a further check on applications for assisted dying, and ensuring doctors and others are able to opt out of involvement in the process.
Jessica says another topic that might get traction today is a call for a clause to prevent assisted dying being used in cases of eating disorders, “which, in some cases of extreme anorexia, might be considered terminal at points but which the patient could theoretically recover from,” says Jessica. She says she also expects the concerns of disability charities – backed by disabled parliamentarians like MSP Pam Duncan-Glancy and peer Tanni Grey-Thompson – to be raised.
One thorn in the side of Leadbeater’s supporters will be the recent opposition to the bill in its current form from the Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCPsych). This is significant because under the bill’s current stipulations a psychiatrist would need to be on a panel overseeing assisted dying cases and this point has been seized on by opponents, who have described the RCPsych’s intervention as a “blow to [the] foundations” of the bill.
Another concern raised by some MPs is that there is still insufficient protection written into the bill for the most vulnerable, including people with mental health conditions and victims of domestic abuse.
They also argue that it is reckless to introduce the option of assisted dying into a social care and health system that is already struggling, with no guarantee of significant improvements to palliative care to ensure people have a real choice.
“The fact that it is happening alongside cuts to the welfare system, and at the same time as Labour says that the NHS is in really bad shape and we need to fix it, is deeply uncomfortable for a lot of Labour MPs – and even for cabinet members,” says Jessica.
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Are MPs switching sides?
When MPs debated the bill’s second reading in November, it passed by a majority of 55 votes.
This week Jessica reported that while only two MPs – Lee Anderson and his former Reform UK colleague Rupert Lowe – have openly declared that they will change their vote, at least five MPs who previously abstained will vote against it at its next stage in the commons. At least three others who voted in favour of the bill in November have said they are considering changing their vote.
There are also concerns from the backers of the bill that undecided MPs may decide to return home to their constituencies instead of voting.
On the other side, two other MPs have also reportedly moved to vote in favour of the bill.
In the days leading up to today’s debate, there have been passionate appeals from both camps for MPs to support or oppose the bill. The broadcaster Esther Rantzen, who has stage-four lung cancer, has written an impassioned letter to MPs asking them to support the bill and allow “a good, pain-free death for ourselves and those we love and care for”.
“I think Kim still has reasonably solid support,” says Jessica. “But she has to persuade MPs not to head back to their constituencies and abstain, and she has to try and keep a reasonable majority as that will give it momentum in the Lords, which will be a whole other very difficult and complicated endeavour.”
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What will come next?
The MPs involved are facing a tough few days, says Jessica. “While almost all polling suggests the public are overwhelmingly in support of the bill, as an MP you have to think: ‘How is going to affect the most vulnerable in my constituency and what is the wider picture I need to consider for all the people I’m responsible for representing?’”
Jessica says that from her own perspective as a political journalist “this bill has been hugely illuminating in terms of the unlikely alliances struck with many MPs in the new intake with party veterans. It’s been the talk of the tea rooms.”
And while she expects things to be difficult for Leadbeater and her backers in the coming weeks, she still believes that ultimately the bill will pass to the next stage.
“Most of these amendments have been led by Kim – some under government pressure – but she has defended them,” she says. “If you look at the maths, the bill got a 55 majority at the last vote, which is considerable, and we’d need about 20 MPs to change their mind for it to really risk failing,” she says.
“But I don’t envy the decision these MPs have to make. It might be the thing of most long-term consequence this parliament does.”
What else we’ve been reading
Abel Tesfaye started out as a melancholic sleaze-merchant – then scored the most-streamed single of all time with Blinding Lights. Ben Beaumont-Thomas gets a rare interview with the man who may be calling time on the Weeknd. Alex Needham, acting head of newsletters
Emma Brockes is great on Mark Zuckerberg’s take on fixing the loneliness epidemic by making an AI chatbot (presumably one of his own) your new BFF. Annie
One in six people born today in the UK or US will live to be 100, a situation unprecedented in human history. So how are we going to make sure that these longer lives are worth living? Andrew J Scott has some thoughts. Alex
For anyone still considering heading stateside, immigration lawyers give advice on how to travel safely and know your rights at the US border. Chilling but useful as increasing numbers of tourists get less than a warm welcome when attempting to get some R&R in Trump’s America. Annie
Progressive parties won recent elections in Australia and Canada – but a Trumpish ex-football hooligan could well be elected president of Romania this weekend. Andrei Popoviciu delves into the reasons for his rise. Alex
Sport
Athletics | The Norwegian Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen has told a court that he finds it “embarrassing to be a victim of domestic violence” on the final day of the trial of his father and former coach, Gjert. This week prosecutors called for Gjert to be given a jail sentence of two and a half years for hitting and verbally abusing Jakob and his younger sister, Ingrid.
Golf | Rory McIlroy began the US PGA with a disappointing 74, eight shots behind the joint leader, Ryan Gerard.
Football | Liverpool are in talks with the Bayer Leverkusen defender Jeremie Frimpong as the Premier League champions seek a replacement for Trent Alexander-Arnold. The Netherlands international has been of interest to his compatriot Arne Slot for a lengthy period and Liverpool are set to trigger his £30m release clause.
The front pages
“Thames Water to be blocked from paying bonuses out of £3bn loan” says the Guardian while the Metro is also on the money with “£9.5 billion – ‘Staggering’ cost of fraud and claim clangers”. The Financial Times has “Economy registers fastest growth in a year as Trump tariff impacts loom”. “UK scrambles for new migrant deal in Balkans after Albania snub” says the i while the Mail gloats “Starmer left squirming by Albania farce” and the Times says “Talks with up to nine nations for asylum deal”. “Children to be taught to show some grit” – that’s the tough-loving Telegraph while in the Express, Esther Rantzen’s daughter explains why “Mum deserves ‘peace of mind’ in right to die fight”. “A smirk … but not reply” – the Mirror tells how it asked “Do you know what happened to Maddie?” of the Madeleine McCann suspect Christian Brueckner.
Something for the weekend
Our critics’ roundup of the best things to watch, read, play and listen to right now
Music
Shanti Celeste: Romance | ★★★★☆
Called upon to come up with a term to describe her 2019 debut album Tangerine – in which the subtlety and depth of classic US house productions was melded with a giddy, rave-y euphoria and rhythms that proceeded at pacy tempos more common to techno – Shanti Celeste offered the admirably prosaic “fast house”. For the most part, its follow-up Romance proceeds at a far more leisurely pace: its key rhythmic sound isn’t an insistent kick drum, but the clatter of percussion vaguely evocative of Celeste’s Latin American roots, as unhurried as an R&B slow jam. More striking still are the vocals. An intermittent feature of her releases since the early 2010s, here they’re front and centre throughout. Her music has always been marked by a strong melodic sense, but the tunes are noticeably brighter, their pop-leaning qualities accentuated by the airiness of her voice. Alexis Petridis
TV
Overcompensating | ★★★★☆
In the pandemic, Benito Skinner became internet famous for his camply unhinged impressions of celebrities, reality stars and LA types. Six years on, Overcompensating, an eight-part Prime Video comedy drama, fictionalises Skinner’s first year at university, a time spent desperately trying to convince himself and others that he was totally not gay. The combination of Benny’s sexuality-based struggles and his new bestie Carmen’s attempts to grapple with grief means the ratio of laughs to sentimental musings occasionally feel out of whack – but there is still much to enjoy. Just don’t come to Overcompensating expecting wall-to-wall comedy; this is a thoroughly charming show with a very sensitive soul. Rachel Aroesti
Game
Doom: The Dark Ages (PC, PS5, Xbox) | ★★★★☆
Billed as a prequel to id Software’s 2016 revival of Doom, The Dark Ages is about as different as it could be from its predecessors while remaining recognisably part of the series. Where 2020’s Doom Eternal was about speed and evasion, The Dark Ages emphasises standing your ground. Where Eternal involved picking off enemies one by one, The Dark Ages empowers you to obliterate dozens of demons simultaneously. Id Software wants Doom to be the shooter that rewires how you think about the genre with each new entry. The Dark Ages isn’t as successful at doing so as Id Software’s earlier fare, but it is nonetheless a highly accomplished, smartly designed shooter that, at its best, hits like a truck. Rick Lane
Today in Focus
‘An island of strangers’: is this the Labour party voters wanted?
Helen Pidd heads to parliament to hear what Labour MPs think about the government’s new talk on immigration, and asks the columnist Nesrine Malik whether it may all backfire
Cartoon of the day | Ben Jennings
The Upside
A bit of good news to remind you that the world’s not all bad
It’s a big year for Peggy Seeger – the American folk musician, activist and brother of Pete – as she turns 90 and releases her final album, Teleology. She’s the subject of this week’s reader interview, taking questions on her career, legacy and the prospect of a revival in protest music in a second Trump presidency.
“We’re gonna be away six weeks and I’m a walking hospital case. I have meds, a step stool so I can put on compression stockings, and arthritis in both hands,” she says in response to one reader’s question on touring at her age.
“My family treat me like glass, but as soon as I get on stage all these things melt away.”
Sign up here for a weekly roundup of The Upside, sent to you every Sunday
Bored at work?
And finally, the Guardian’s puzzles are here to keep you entertained throughout the day. Until tomorrow.
