Both Conservative and Labour administrations have now refused to release research showing PIP payments are vital for disabled people’s survival, exposing the ideological nature of planned welfare ‘reforms,’ writes Dr DYLAN MURPHY
Let’s remember the case against assisted suicide
CHRIS WHITEHOUSE argues that changes being put forward to legally allow assisted dying cannot be considered separately from the social conditions that cause the elderly, poor and unwell to suffer while alive
Western media dismisses the National People’s Congress while ignoring its extensive consultation processes, massive public participation mechanisms, and a tiered structure involving millions of deputies, explains JENNY CLEGG
Despite caring for vulnerable children and often covering classes, support staff remain undervalued, with some earning less than supermarket workers — but GMB’s campaigning offers new hope, argues DONNA SPICER
NICK WRIGHT examines how Farage’s party has attracted five distinct voter tribes with incompatible views on economics, immigration and state intervention — presenting both a challenge and opportunity for left organising
Man-made canals like Panama and Suez face unprecedented challenges from extreme weather patterns and geopolitical tensions that reveal the fragility of our global trade networks, write ROX MIDDLETON, LIAM SHAW and MIRIAM GAUNTLETT
As climate change makes vast mineral deposits accessible, the island’s 56,000 residents face unprecedented pressure from Trump’s territorial ambitions while struggling to maintain their traditional way of life, writes JOHN GREEN
Student Mahmoud Khalil’s arrest and threatened deportation are terrifying — but the moribund Democrats are still failing to mount any meaningful resistance against the slide toward autocracy, reports LINDA PENTZ GUNTER
IN 2015, the last major attempt to legalise assisted suicide in Britain was resoundingly defeated in the House of Commons with a vote of 330 against and 118 in favour. At the time, Jeremy Corbyn spoke against the Bill, saying to supporters: “This Bill would put the most vulnerable people at risk.”
Pointing to the flaws in our social care system, Corbyn was rightly fearful of how legalised assisted suicide would impact vulnerable members of society. “I don’t believe we should be talking about assisted dying until our social care and health care systems have been improved sufficiently with a focus on the sick and elderly,” he added.
Fast forward to today, following the economic impacts of Covid-19, a health system that is on its knees, reports of horrific treatment of residents in care homes, and a cost-of-living crisis, and Corbyn’s words don’t seem radical enough for our current economic climate.
More from this author
CHRIS WHITEHOUSE shines a light on the far from neutral tactics used to lobby for assisted suicide and create momentum for its legalisation in Britain
CHRIS WHITEHOUSE calls out the agenda of the assisted suicide lobby as Matthew Parris admits its the introduction would not just risk putting the terminally under pressure to lift the burden they place on others, but that this would be a ‘good thing’
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