A busy week in Parliament…

Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill

On Friday, the Commons gave a Third Reading to the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill by 314 votes to 291, and the Bill will now go to the Lords. What will happen there remains to be seen, a view shared by Professor Mark Elliott who noted that “[a]ny argument that it would be undemocratic or otherwise constitutionally suspect for the Lords to do anything other than rubber-stamping the Bill would be wide of the mark”.

Further, The Times reports that the Secretary of State for Health, Wes Streeting, has issued a statement to his constituents in which he says that “Setting up this service will take time and money that is in short supply”, which could divert resources from the NHS, concluding that “Politics is about prioritising. It is a daily series of choices and trade-offs. I fear we’ve made the wrong one.”

Abortion law in England & Wales

On Tuesday, MPs voted to decriminalise abortion in England and Wales. Continue reading →