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The assisted dying bill is entering the make-or-break stage.

The message from those around Kim Leadbeater is that all is calm and well. She tells me she is “not particularly worried” about 28 MPs changing their minds and overturning the previous, historic, vote at the bill’s second reading.

But the mood at the assisted dying campaign’s press conference today is different. The cheerful optimism that marked the last one has turned to a charged nervousness.

They should be nervous. There are jitters among a number of MPs I’ve spoken to who voted for the bill last time but are concerned about safeguards and timeframes.

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MPs do not have long to make up their minds – after the Easter recess the report stage of the process will begin (probably on the 25 April) and the next vote is expected around the 16 May.

It will be the crunch vote where MPs who voted for the bill in principle – to see it debated – will need to pick a side.

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Last time a majority of 55 MPs voted for assisted dying, more than many had expected but not enough to make the path to law certain.

Reform’s Lee Anderson and his former colleague Rupert Lowe have both told us they will no longer be backing the bill, having supported it last time. No Labour MPs I’ve spoken to appear to have decisively changed their mind, however.

“I would hope that some colleagues would come on board that potentially voted against it last time,” Ms Leadbeater tells me.

But the sense I get is the mood may be in the other direction.

The main issue that comes up is the removal of the requirement of a High Court judge – to be replaced by a panel of experts including a senior lawyer, psychiatrist and social worker. Ms Leadbeater says the safeguards are now stronger.

There has also been criticism that some amendments, including on closing a so-called anorexia loophole, were not selected.

Naz Shah, the Labour MP for Bradford West who did not back the assisted dying bill but claims she was “very open” to voting for it, says the process has been “fundamentally flawed”.

She says: “The intention for me was, is it going to be safer? Can I vote for this bill? Ultimately the conclusion I’ve drawn is, no, it’s not safe enough.”

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Kim Leadbeater MP defends changes to Assisted Dying Bill

There is also disquiet about the deadline for the implementation of assisted dying being pushed to four years, which some fear will mean it will be politicised in an election campaign.

Ms Leadbeater says it is “more important to do this right than to do this quickly”. She believes implementation can still be achieved in two years.

And what of the toll it has taken on the MP herself? It was always remarkable that such consequential legislation to be brought via an individual MP’s private members bill.

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Why is assisted dying so controversial?

Ms Leadbeater, whose sister Jo Cox was murdered when she was an MP, tells me “the personal toll has been quite hard”.

She talks about the “unpleasantness and nastiness” that has been directed towards her but believes her parliamentary colleagues have come to the argument in good faith.

“I think people have got their views and they’ve got strong views”, she says. “We all have to think about how we behave in this very privileged, very responsible job.”

One thing is for sure, it’s nearly make-your-mind-up time for MPs, and what happens next will have consequences well beyond parliament.

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MP Zarah Sultana who was ousted from Labour announces she is starting new political party with Jeremy Corbyn

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MP Zarah Sultana who was ousted from Labour announces she is starting new political party with Jeremy Corbyn

An MP who was ousted from the Labour Party has announced she is setting up a new political party with Jeremy Corbyn.

Independent MP Zarah Sultana said she and the former Labour leader will co-lead the new party, which she did not provide a name for.

She said other independent MPs, campaigners and activists from across the country will join them, but did not name anyone.

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Ms Sultana also said she was “resigning” from the Labour Party after 14 years.

She was suspended as a Labour MP shortly after they came to power last summer for voting against the government maintaining the two-child benefit cap.

Several others from the left of the party, including Mr Corbyn, were also suspended for voting against the government, and also remained as independent MPs.

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However, Ms Sultana was still a member of the Labour Party – until now.

Zarah Sultana

Mr Corbyn has previously said the independent MPs who were suspended from Labour would “come together” to provide an “alternative.

The other four are: Iqbal Mohamed, Shockat Adam, Ayoub Khan and Adnan Hussain.

Mr Corbyn and the other four independents have not said if they are part of the new party Ms Sultana announced.

In her announcement, Ms Sultana said she would vote to abolish the two-child benefit cap again and also voted against scrapping the winter fuel payment for most pensioners.

Ms Sultana also voted against the government’s welfare bill this week, which was heavily watered down as Sir Keir Starmer tried to prevent a major rebellion from his own MPs.

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Protesters block Israeli arms manufacturer in Bristol

On Wednesday, Ms Sultana spoke passionately against Palestine Action being proscribed as a terror organisation – but MPs eventually voted for it to be.

She said to proscribe it is “a deliberate distortion of the law to chill dissent, criminalise solidarity and suppress the truth”.

Ms Sultana said they were founding the new party because “Westminster is broken but the real crisis is deeper – just 50 families now own more wealth than half the UK population”.

She called Reform leader Nigel Farage “a billionaire-backed grifter” leading the polls “because Labour has completely failed to improve people’s lives.

Reform leader Nigel Farage attending day three of Royal Ascot.
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Ms Sultana called Nigel Farage a ‘billionaire-backed grifter’. Pic: PA

The MP, who has spoken passionately about Gaza, added: “Across the political establishment, from Farage to Starmer, they smear people of conscience trying to stop a genocide in Gaza as terrorists.

“But the truth is clear: this government is an active participant in genocide. And the British people oppose it.

“We are not going to take this anymore.”

A Labour Party spokesperson said: “In just 12 months, this Labour government has boosted wages, delivered an extra four million NHS appointments, opened 750 free breakfast clubs, secured three trade deals and four interest rate cuts lowering mortgage payments for millions.

“Only Labour can deliver the change needed to renew Britain.”

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Tornado Cash co-founder keeps testimony plans unclear ahead of trial

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Tornado Cash co-founder keeps testimony plans unclear ahead of trial

Tornado Cash co-founder keeps testimony plans unclear ahead of trial

Roman Storm is scheduled to appear in a New York courtroom for his criminal trial on July 14, facing money laundering and conspiracy charges.

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US Senator Cynthia Lummis drafts standalone crypto tax bill

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US Senator Cynthia Lummis drafts standalone crypto tax bill

US Senator Cynthia Lummis drafts standalone crypto tax bill

The Wyoming Senator seeks to end double taxation and add clarity to the tax treatment of crypto staking, mining, and lending transactions.

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