Assisted dying bill: This is how MPs plan to vote

Published

11 months ago

November 29, 2024

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The first vote on the assisted dying bill is not only hugely consequential, it’s also hugely unpredictable and even as the vote draws near it still feels like it could go either way.

MPs will debate the bill, brought forward by Labour MP Kim Leadbeater, in parliament today before they get a free vote on the legislation.

There are a few reasons why the potential outcome of the vote is difficult to predict. Firstly, the last Commons vote on this issue was back in 2015. It was also a Private Members’ Bill and a free vote, that was defeated by 331 to 119 – 199 MPs didn’t vote and one abstained.

That may seem like a useful starting point to predict future results but there has been an unprecedented turnover of MPs since then.

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It was less than a decade ago but over two-thirds of those MPs from 2015 are no longer in parliament. This means there’s no voting record that can help us out this time round.

Secondly, it’s a free vote so we can’t, as we usually would, look to the political parties to work out the numbers.

Every single one of the 650 MPs must make up their minds for themselves and they have all taken a slightly different approach to the process.

Some came out straight away and declared their position publicly. Some took their time and have only decided in the last few days, putting out statements on social media platforms.

There are also those who prefer to keep it to themselves, and some who are genuinely still undecided and will be until they walk through the voting lobbies.

So, to get a sense of what could happen, at Sky News we have been monitoring declarations as well as reaching out to every MP personally.

This has given us, on the eve of the second reading, an informative but still incomplete picture.

So far we have confirmed that 181 MPs will vote for the bill, while 148 say they will vote against, and 300 are either undecided or haven’t revealed their decision.

There are also 20 MPs that won’t vote – the SNP because the changes won’t apply in Scotland, Sinn Fein who don’t sit in Westminster, and the Speaker and Deputy Speakers.

Of those who will vote but whose position is still unknown, about two-thirds are Labour MPs – a big chunk of those are brand new.

This is the deciding cohort, who just a few months into their roles will make a life-or-death decision that will influence generations to come – no pressure.

Ms Leadbeater has said she hopes parliament will “show itself at its best” by voting in favour of the bill.

In a statement on Thursday night, she said: “I hope this parliament will also be remembered for this major social reform that gives people autonomy over the end of their lives and puts right an injustice that has been left on the statute books for far too long.

“People will be looking in on parliament as it debates this important change to the law – a change that, when we most need it, could bring comfort to any one of us or to somebody we love.”

What could make the difference?

Most MPs tell us they have been poring over the legislation line-by-line and listening intently to their constituents.

But beyond that, there are external factors that will no doubt have influenced their thinking.

Public opinion will be high on the list, with the latest YouGov poll – one of many – showing an overwhelming majority (73%) of the public are in favour of a change in the law.

The other will be how Cabinet ministers vote, with many high profile and respected names, Ed Miliband and Hilary Benn among them, coming out in favour.

More controversial though are those who oppose the bill.

In particular, the Health Secretary Wes Streeting and the Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood have made the news with their views.

They will both have to take a leading role in implementing the legislation if it passes.

Mr Streeting shocked Westminster when he revealed he had changed his mind after voting for the 2015 version.

He also ruffled feathers among colleagues when he appeared to breach the etiquette around free votes, by repeatedly raising concerns around extra pressures on the NHS and making the case for improving palliative care instead.

Mr Streeting’s position and approach have made the bill’s supporters nervous that new MPs will fall in behind him.

In contrast, other big beasts – the prime minister, the chancellor and the foreign secretary – remain silent on which way they will go, aware that their opinions could sway the result.

As it stands, after all the number crunching, it looks likely that this landmark legislation will pass the second reading.

But with so many unknowns, both sides will feel that even at this late stage, it’s still impossible to call.

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Biggest schools shake-up in a decade to cut GCSE exam time – and add AI and fake news lessons

Published

4 hours ago

November 5, 2025

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Biggest schools shake-up in a decade to cut GCSE exam time - and add AI and fake news lessons

The government has announced it will cut GCSE exam time by up to three hours per student.

The final report from a curriculum and assessment review – commissioned by Labour last year, and the biggest of its kind for a decade – recommends cutting the overall volume of exams at Key Stage 4 by 10%, ruling the current amount as “excessive”.

It also calls for the introduction of new maths and English tests in Year 8 to help teachers identify learning gaps sooner, the addition of mandatory citizenship lessons in primary schools, and a major overhaul of the Key Stage 2 grammar, punctuation, and spelling test.

AI among new subjects

The reforms to the national curriculum will also include a focus on AI and data science for post-16 students.

For the first time, primary-aged children will be taught how to spot fake news and identify misinformation and disinformation. This will help them develop their critical thinking skills and protect them when online.

Primary pupils will also learn more about the fundamentals of money. The review recognises that children are now consumers often before they reach secondary school.

A new compulsory reading test in Year 8 will be introduced. This will be in addition to a writing assessment in Year 6, as well as SATs, to identify pupils who need extra support.

Is another exam in Year 8 the right move?

Anjum Peerbacos

Education reporter

Are more exams the only way standards can be improved?

Primary colleagues have said SATs are not the best way to assess children. Previously, primary teachers have taken industrial action over this issue.

There is a danger this additional exam will exacerbate an exam factory culture which already exists in many schools. As a former secondary school teacher and parent I have seen first-hand how many hours of exams the system expects fifteen and sixteen-year-olds to do for their GCSEs.

There has been a huge rise in issues in young people’s mental health and the topic of exams is one of huge stress for young people. To introduce another compulsory exam seems rather short-sighted.

Exams are not the only way to drive up standards for young people and improve their life chances. Is the new system setting up another opportunity to fail?

Schools will also be expected to work towards offering triple science GCSE as standard.

This comes alongside the government exploring a new qualification for 16-18 year olds in data science and AI, with a view to encourage more young people into science and tech careers.

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said the changes “will help young people step boldly into the future, with the knowledge to achieve and the skills to thrive as the world around us continues to rapidly evolve”.

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Additionally, the government will publish an oracy framework to help ensure more young people become confident and effective speakers, building on the success of existing reading and writing frameworks.

It is also committed to ensuring all pupils retain access to sport and the arts.

UK

‘Human error’ may have led to grooming gangs investigations being dropped, review says

Published

4 hours ago

November 5, 2025

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'Human error' may have led to grooming gangs investigations being dropped, review says

A major review to unearth failures to tackle grooming gangs has found that potential human error led to some police investigations being dropped.

The review – named Operation Beaconport – is looking into cases between 1 January 2010 and 31 March this year.

Thousands of cases are expected to come under scrutiny.

So far, 1,273 files from 23 police forces have been referred to the review, led by the National Crime Agency (NCA), of which 236 are being examined as a priority because they involve allegations of rape.

NCA deputy director Nigel Leary said initial reviews suggest there were mistakes in some investigations.

He said: “Initial reviews have identified that in some cases where there has been a decision to take no further action (NFA), there were available lines of inquiry that could have been pursued.

“We’ve seen in those cases what appears to be potentially human error.”

Mr Leary said that in some cases the inquiries haven’t followed what the NCA would characterise as “proper investigative practice”.

“That includes, for example, lines of inquiry being identified but not being followed, victim accounts not being taken in a way that we would recognise as best practice, and suspects not being pursued or interviewed in the ways that we would anticipate,” he said.

Last month, the Metropolitan Police announced officers were reviewing 9,000 cases of child sexual exploitation.

It is expected that some of these will be referred to Operation Beaconport, which is looking at cases involving two or more suspects, more than one victim, contact offences, where the suspects are still alive, and that have not already been independently reviewed.

The investigation into grooming gangs and other non-familial sexual abuse in Rotherham between 1997 and 2013, Operation Stovewood, has cost £89m over 11 years. It is not clear how much the latest investigation will cost.

However, Mr Leary said it would be the “most comprehensive investigation of its type in UK history”, with the NCA estimating thousands of officers will be involved in the overall operation.

Victims will fear that wrongs are discovered, but not righted

There is already a system in place for what are known as “non-recent” sexual abuse cases to be reviewed called Operation Hydrant.

But the NCA is looking to identify cases in the last five years, which could show that women and girls are still being failed by police forces.

Worryingly, the NCA says it has “already identified investigations that were incorrectly closed with no further action taken” as police chiefs are ordered to hand over their files in hundreds of closed cases under powers unique to the NCA.

This often comes with mixed feelings for the survivors. When Sky News investigated a closed case called Operation Marksman into an alleged grooming gang in Hull in 2021 – the case was reopened. A review team found the initial investigation was “flawed” and a new team in Humberside was ordered to re-investigate.

But, two years on, the young women involved told Sky News they were angry and frustrated to discover the new team had only just finished going through the original files. What is more, evidence gets old – phones and laptops get swapped and deleted, DNA evidence has long disappeared.

This will run alongside the government’s national public inquiry, which has faltered after two potential chairs pulled out due to pressure from victims on the inquiry panel.

With police resources stretched in many directions, what may happen is wrongs are discovered but not righted.

However, encouragingly, this isn’t just a review exercise by the NCA but also an effort to learn from mistakes, improve methodology, share more data which, if done well, could build a better success rate.

Officials are recording the ethnicity of suspects and victims as part of the review, and have found gaps in the existing data that they are trying to fill.

As they examine cases, they aim to flag any dangerous suspects, and any that are at risk of fleeing the UK.

Investigators have vowed to be “honest and transparent” with victims from the start, to avoid giving them unrealistic expectations.

Richard Fewkes, from the National Police Chiefs’ Council, said while going after perpetrators is important, some victims will just want to feel they are being listened to.

He said: “Justice means different things for different victims and survivors, and no one victim and survivor is the same.

“For some, justice is just being believed, perhaps for the first time, by someone in authority – being listened to.

“Or it might even be understanding that the review has taken place, a reinvestigation has taken place in an appropriate, focused, robust way, but nothing more can be done.

“For some that is justice in their mind.”

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Number of female MPs could plummet for first time if no action taken

Published

4 hours ago

November 5, 2025

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Number of female MPs could plummet for first time if no action taken

The number of female MPs could plummet for the first time in more than a century if action is not taken now, campaigners have warned.

If Reform UK, which has led voting intention polls since April, or the Conservatives, win the next general election, women’s representation would fall drastically.

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A Labour win would stall the current percentage of female MPs, which stands at its highest ever at 41% (264 out of 650) – but is still lower than the UK population, of which 51% are women.

If Reform win the next election, set for 2029, women’s representation could fall to 26%, analysis of Electoral Calculus polling data by 50:50 Parliament found.

If the Tories win, 33% of MPs would be women, while Labour would remain the same.

What does history tell us?

Every parliament since women were allowed to be MPs in 1918 has seen an increase, apart from small drops in 1950, 1979 and 2001.

Nancy Astor was the first woman to take her seat in the Commons and served from 1919 to 1945.

The 80s saw a substantial increase in female MPs before a large jump in 1997, and there has been a big rise from 128 women MPs in 2005 to the current 264.

Despite this, no major party reached gender parity in its selection of candidates for last year’s election.

Labour selected 47% women, Greens were at 44%, Conservatives 34%, Lib Dems 28% and Reform 16%.

50:50 Parliament, which campaigns for gender equality in politics, is calling for people to “Ask Her to Stand” to encourage more women to get involved with politics to help balance the scales.

It has installed a “push for equality” panic button outside parliament to raise awareness of the gender disparity.

Stella Creasy, Labour MP for Walthamstow since 2010, has campaigned for abortion rights, childcare reform, and became the first MP to appoint a locum MP to manage constituency work during her maternity leave, after campaigning for better maternity rights for MPs.

She told Sky News gender parity in parliament is important, as a broad range of views and experiences is needed “to shape good quality policymaking”.

“For me, this is not about electing women for the sake of it, or because they champion women’s rights per se; it is because gender balance will lead to better outcomes for all and the furthering of all of our rights,” she said.

“There is strength in diversity, and we cannot hope to make decent policy, or pass good legislation, if half of the population are not adequately represented in the House.

“Childcare is a perfect example – it isn’t just good for mums, it is essential infrastructure for society and therefore the economy to get it right.”

‘Why would you think men are better at politics?’

Harriet Harman, a Labour peer and co-host of Sky News’ Electoral Dysfunction podcast, is a former minister who put forward the Equality Bill, now the Equality Act 2010, which protects people from discrimination in the workplace and in wider society.

She told Sky News: “The time is long past that women could be expected to put up with men making all the decisions.

“Male-dominated parliaments are evidence of discrimination. Unless you think men are just better at politics than women. And why would you think that?

“A team of men and women with a breadth of experience is what works best. Who wants to go back to the old boys’ network running the country? Not me.”

‘Different voices make better decisions’

Former leader of the Scottish Conservatives Baroness Ruth Davidson, also a co-host of Electoral Dysfunction, said parliament “works better when it looks and feels closer to the country it seeks to represent”.

“Women politicians often have different experiences before entering parliament, including in their prior interactions with public services,” she added.

“It is important that laws and funding decided in the Commons and elsewhere are informed by the widest experience of how such decisions impact in practice.

“Having different voices round the table, offering challenge from a variety of perspectives, is how you make better laws, better decisions and a better Britain.”

Lyanne Nicholl, CEO of 50:50 Parliament, said the impact of their prediction playing out will be “devastating”, as she pointed out gender parity “isn’t about party politics – it’s about democracy”.

She said “we risk turning back the clock” and policymaking “ignoring half the population”, as she called the data a “wake-up call” for everyone.