UK’s longest-serving MP calls for assisted dying vote delay as not enough time ‘to consider immense complexities’
The UK’s longest-serving MP has called for the assisted dying bill to be delayed as he said there is not enough time “to consider the immense complexities”.
MPs will get a free vote, where they can vote however they want, on legalising assisted dying on 29 November, after the details were published on 11 November.
Sir Edward Leigh, the longest-serving MP (father of the House), told the Commons on Wednesday: “There has simply not been enough time to consider the immense complexities of the issue until we are required to make a decision.”
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The Conservative, who has been an MP since 1983, introduced a bill to parliament to require the government to issue guidance on the criminal law of health professionals administering pain relief to terminally ill people.
He said the bill is an attempt to delay the assisted dying vote and to provide more information to those voting. It has been given a second reading on 6 December – after the assisted dying bill’s first vote.
Sir Edward and Diane Abbott, the longest-serving female MP, have also written a joint letter calling for the Commons to reject the assisted dying bill, arguing it has been rushed through and puts vulnerable people at risk.
The assisted dying bill has caused a split among MPs of all parties, but about 100 are still believed to be undecided.
Speaking in the Commons, Sir Edward said there should be an impact assessment, including on the NHS and judges.
Two independent doctors would have to be satisfied a person is eligible for assisted dying and a High Court judge would have to sign it off.
Diane Abbott has written a letter with Sir Edward calling for a delay
He said the state of palliative care and the current options available to people who are dying needs to be made clear to the public before a vote can go ahead.
“So much of the impetus in favour of assisted suicide comes from an understandable fear of dying in pain,” he said.
But, he said hospices help people die “as peacefully… as possible” without administering legal drugs.
Palliative care nurses have told him a patient can be given as much morphine as they like but it will not kill someone.
However, he said sometimes nurses, normally in hospitals, are unwilling to double the dose “for fear of legal consequences”.
“I hope that if I’m dying of terminal cancer, a nurse won’t hesitate to give me as much as necessary,” he said.
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Cabinet split over assisted dying
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Details of end of life bill
And while he has spoken to palliative care nurses and doctors, and been with a friend in hospice as they died peacefully after being knocked out with morphine, he said the public deserves to know more.
The increasingly older population in the UK means more funding is needed for palliative care, including for hospices and care homes, he added.
Sir Edward said the assisted dying bill debate in 10 days time could be seen as a “useful airing of the issues that in a year or two, we could make a measured and well-informed decision”.
“What we don’t want is pressure for assisted suicide for old people, because there are not enough resources to pay for them in the present system. Again, we need much more information on this whole area,” he said.
Democratic leaning organizations and members of Congress have announced plans to protest what they describe as the sale of access to the office of the US president, in reference to Donald Trump’s memecoin dinner on May 22. The event’s attendees are said to have collectively spent over $100 million for the chance to meet with the US president.
Since Trump’s memecoin project, Official Trump (TRUMP), announced that its top 220 tokenholders would have an opportunity to apply for an exclusive dinner with the president, many leaders in the crypto industry and US lawmakers have criticized the event, saying Trump was opening his office to potential bribery and corruption.
The memecoin dinner prompted some Democratic lawmakers to withdraw support for crypto-related legislation in Congress, including the market structure and stablecoin bills.
“Trump collecting gifts from foreign governments is unconstitutional,” a spokesperson for the consumer advocacy organization Public Citizen, which is planning to protest near the memecoin dinner on May 22, told Cointelegraph. “Collecting foreign government investments through his memecoin is not much better. American foreign policy should not be for sale.”
Crypto industry figures such as Tron founder Justin Sun, Kronos Research chief investment officer Vincent Liu, Hyperithm co-CEO Oh Sangrok, and Synthetix founder Kain Warwick are among the tokenholders expected to attend the dinner at the Trump National Golf Club outside Washington, DC. The memecoin project said all applicants had to pass a background check and could not be from a “[Know Your Customer] watchlist country.”
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Public Citizen, in partnership with progressive political organization Our Revolution, will hold a rally near the golf club, which Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley is expected to attend. In addition, the Arlington and Loudoun Democrats will be hosting a separate event to urge US officials to “hold [Trump] accountable,” and Democratic leadership in Congress has scheduled two press events on May 22 ahead of the dinner.
“Americans cannot and will not accept President Trump’s view that positions of power exist only to benefit the holder of that power,” Ryan Ruzic, chair of the Loudoun County Democratic Committee, told Cointelegraph. “We have a moral responsibility to speak out against corruption, whatever the result may be.”
Pushback on TRUMP memecoin affected crypto legislation
Some lawmakers initially cited the memecoin dinner and the Trump family’s involvement with the crypto platform World Liberty Financial in opposing passage of the GENIUS Act, a bill to regulate payment stablecoins. World Liberty Financial began issuing its own USD1 stablecoin in March, prompting concerns about Trump’s conflicts of interest. However, the legislation passed a key procedural vote in the Senate on May 19 with support from Democrats, setting the bill up for debate in the chamber.
“Many senators, myself included, have very real concerns about the Trump family’s use of crypto technologies to evade oversight, hide shady financial dealings, and personally profit at the expense of everyday Americans,” said Sen. Mark Warner in a statement before the May 19 vote, adding: “But we cannot allow that corruption to blind us to the broader reality: blockchain technology is here to stay.”
Senator Chris Murphy, who voted against advancing the GENIUS Act, called for bipartisan support in amending the bill to specifically bar a US president from issuing stablecoins. He also called on the White House to release a complete list of attendees to the memecoin dinner, suggesting that some or all of them would “try to get something from the president” in exchange for purchasing the tokens.
Murphy and Senator Elizabeth Warren will attend a press event with representatives for Public Citizen on May 22. California Representative Maxine Waters, ranking member of the US House Financial Services Committee, announced a separate press conference for the same day, with plans to introduce a bill to “block Trump’s memecoin and stop his crypto corruption, once and for all.”
As of May 21, the exact number of attendees to the dinner was unknown. A smaller group of 25 tokenholders also qualified to apply for “VIP tour” and reception — presumably at the White House — with Trump, but the complete list of those planning to attend was also unknown at the time of publication.
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The Texas House of Representatives has passed the third reading of SB 21, a bill that seeks to establish a strategic Bitcoin reserve in the state. The bill passed in a 101-42 vote and will now go to Texas Governor Greg Abbott to either sign into law or veto.
SB 21, authored by state Senator Charles Schwertner, establishes a Bitcoin (BTC) reserve that is managed by the state’s comptroller. The legislation allows the comptroller to invest in any cryptocurrency with a market cap above $500 billion over the previous 12-month period. Currently, the only cryptocurrency fitting the requirement is Bitcoin.
Before the vote, state Representative Giovanni Capriglione said to the chamber that the bill was a “pivotal moment in securing Texas’s leadership in the digital age with the passage of our strategic Bitcoin reserve. Now, we embrace a modern asset with traditional properties for future promise.”
This is a developing story, and further information will be added as it becomes available.
Stablecoin adoption among institutions could surge as the United States Senate prepares to debate a key piece of legislation aimed at regulating the sector.
After failing to gain support from key Democrats on May 8, the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act passed the US Senate in a 66–32 procedural vote on May 20 and is now heading to a debate on the Senate floor.
The bill seeks to set clear rules for stablecoin collateralization and mandate compliance with Anti-Money Laundering laws.
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“This act doesn’t just regulate stablecoins, it legitimizes them,” said Andrei Grachev, managing partner at DWF Labs and Falcon Finance.
“It sets clear rules, and with clarity comes confidence. That’s what institutions have been waiting for,” Grachev told Cointelegraph during the Chain Reaction daily X spaces show on May 20, adding:
“Stablecoins aren’t a crypto experiment anymore. They’re a better form of money. Faster, simpler, and more transparent than fiat. It’s only a matter of time before they become the default.”
Senate bill seen as path to unified digital system
The GENIUS Act may be the “first step” toward establishing a “unified digital financial system which is borderless, programmable and efficient,” Grachev said, adding:
“When the US moves on stablecoin policy, the world watches.”
Republican Senator Cynthia Lummis, a co-sponsor of the bill, also pointed to Memorial Day as a “fair target” for its potential passage.
Grachev said regulatory clarity alone will not drive institutional adoption. Products offering stable and predictable yield will also be necessary. Falcon Finance is currently developing a synthetic yield-bearing dollar product designed for this market, he noted.
Yield-bearing stablecoins now represent 4.5% of the total stablecoin market after rising to $11 billion in total circulation, Cointelegraph reported on May 21.
Related: Stablecoins seen as ideal fit for real-time collateral management
GENIUS Act regulatory gaps don’t address offshore stablecoin issuers
Despite broad support for the GENIUS Act, some critics say the legislation does not go far enough. Vugar Usi Zade, the chief operating officer at Bitget exchange, told Cointelegraph that “the bill doesn’t fully address offshore stablecoin issuers like Tether, which continue to play an outsized role in global liquidity.”
He added that US-based issuers will now face “steeper costs,” likely accelerating consolidation across the market and favoring well-resourced players that can meet the new thresholds.
Still, Zade acknowledged that the legislation could bring greater “stability” to regulated offerings, depending on how it is ultimately worded and enforced.
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