On Wednesday, Sir Keir Starmer insisted that he would plough on with the government’s proposed welfare reforms. For Labour MPs, that only made things worse. Today’s task for the prime minister and his team: make things better. The clear change of tone right from the start of the day was the first sign of that...
The government is in talks with Labour MPs about possible changes to its welfare policies, Downing Street has confirmed. In a notable softening of tone, No 10 said that they “want” to hold a vote on Tuesday – as is currently planned – and admitted that getting the policy right was “not easy”. It follows...
A growing number of Labour MPs are supporting a bid to block the government’s planned welfare changes, despite ministers phoning backbenchers to persuade them to back down. More than 130 MPs, including 122 Labour MPs, have signed an amendment that would give them the opportunity to vote on a proposal to reject plans to cut...
Michael Race Business reporter, BBC News Getty Images The government has taken “insufficient action” to ensure people entitled to compensation as a result of the Post Office scandal have applied for it, a report has found. The Public Accounts Committee of MPs, which has scrutinised payouts, noted that many of the wrongly-accused or convicted sub-postmasters...
About 80 Labour MPs are supporting a fresh effort to block the government’s planned changes to the benefits system, the BBC has been told. The MPs have signed an amendment that would give them an opportunity to vote on a proposal to reject the welfare reform bill in its entirety. Dozens of Labour MPs have...
After several hours of emotional debate, MPs voted on a bill that would legalise assisted dying in England and Wales. The bill would allow terminally ill adults with six months or less to live to get medical assistance to end their own lives. MPs were allowed to vote according to their personal beliefs, rather than...
Kate Whannel Political reporter PA Media In an historic vote, MPs have approved a bill which gives terminally ill adults in England and Wales the right to end their own lives. The Terminally Ill Adults Bill, which was backed by 314 votes to 291, will now go to the House of Lords for further scrutiny....
In Westminster a lot of power is derived from patronage, as well as feelings of loyalty to a party, plus occasional warnings, threats and arm-twisting. Whipping is a central part of the British political system. Whips are the MPs in each party responsible for discipline and ensuring their colleagues vote the right way. And yet...
MPs have voted to change abortion legislation to stop women in England and Wales being prosecuted for ending their pregnancy. The Labour MP for Gower, Tonia Antoniazzi, led the call to decriminalise the 1% of abortions that happen after 24 weeks, saying these were “desperate women” who need “compassion not criminalisation”. As an issue of...
Getty Images A law change aimed at decriminalising abortion will be debated in the House of Commons on Tuesday. Two Labour MPs, Tonia Antoniazzi and Stella Creasy, have tabled rival amendments to the Crime and Policing Bill. Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle could pick one or both amendments to be debated by MPs, but is likely...
Women would no longer be prosecuted for terminating a pregnancy in England and Wales under a proposed shake-up of abortion laws. MPs are set to get a free vote next week – meaning they will not be told how to vote by their party – on a change to the law. It comes amid concern...
BBC James Yeates’ son Luca was born in September 2024 The UK’s statutory parental leave system is “one of the worst in the developed world” and has “fundamental flaws”, a group of cross-party MPs has said. A report published today by the Women and Equalities Committee said paternity leave rules “entrench outdated gender stereotypes”. It...
Opposition to a bill which would legalise assisted dying in England and Wales is growing among MPs, the BBC has found. The Assisted Dying Bill was supported by 330 MPs last year, passing its first major vote in the House of Commons with a majority of 55 MPs from a wide range of political parties....
Paul Seddon Political reporter Bloomberg Sarah Pochin became Reform UK’s fifth MP at a by-election last month Reform UK chairman Zia Yusuf says it was “dumb” for the party’s newest MP to call on Sir Keir Starmer to ban the burka. Sarah Pochin – who won last month’s Runcorn and Helsby by-election – urged the...
New Zealand’s parliament has voted to suspend three Māori MPs for their protest haka during a sitting last year. Opposition MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke, who started the traditional dance after being asked if her party, Te Pāti Māori (Māori Party), supported a controversial bill, has received a seven-day ban. The party’s co-leaders Rawiri Waititi and Debbie...