Daniel Finkelstein

The US Edition of HITLER, STALIN, MUM AND DAD is now available for ordering. TWO ROADS HOME is coming to the US on September 19: penguinrandomhouse.com/books/704980/t… #TwoRoadsHome”

This is exactly right. It gets the number of braincells spot on.

@nmdacosta I understand. It’s easy for us all to lack patience with each other.

That’s kind of you. Disarming as your generosity is, you will know that your explanation would not have applied at second reading nor early on. Given the relatively limited number of contributions since 2019, it does make it somewhat harder for me to accept it entirely at face value. I find myself short on patience, having seen Lord Falconer dismiss the Royal Colleges, and fail to engage with the findings of both the DPRRC and Constitution Committee. If he had applied himself to the concerns of external stakeholders with the same diligence as his media campaign, the Bill might not be in this mess.

If 100 Labour MPs want something but won’t be named publicly, the real story is they know the other 304 would think they’re mad. Lobby groups & Danny Finkelstein may want Labour to waste the rest of this parliament on assisted dying, but they may not be unbiased counsel

I haven’t spoken on the bill because each speech would make it less likely to come to a conclusion. I both accept and respect your different opinion. We are lucky to have someone in politics so focused and incisive as you are. I’m sorry it leads us in different directions on this and relieved that on many other matters we are allies.

@Dannythefink How easily you say that. When you advised Major and Hague would you have been so dismissive of what exactly you want the PM to commit to? Will you support the Labour party all the way if it goes wrong? You haven't even spoken on this Bill.

@ChrisRGollop @nmdacosta It is indeed classic.

@Dannythefink @nmdacosta And the latest report I read today included a response from Downing Street saying that it’s a matter for Parliament. Classic Starmer, stands back to avoid being tainted when issues get a bit messy? And like Brexit we’ve managed to make a complete dog’s dinner of the whole issue.

@ChrisRGollop @nmdacosta Keir Starmer made it clear that he would allow government time. I wrote a column on how significant that was.

@Dannythefink @nmdacosta I suspect underlying all of this Danny, Bill content concerns aside, is a resentment that a monumental change in how we look after our people was never mentioned by Labour before they entered govt. One has to assume they feared it would harm their election chances. That’s deceit.

@nmdacosta It has been done elsewhere so it can be done here. The only issue is whether it should be.

But it would take the entire Parliament. The next session will last until at least mid 2027. Then if it passes or is forced on to the statute books all the gaps need to be filled by secondary legislation. Ministers will no longer be 'neutral', they'll have to make some deeply difficult decisions - from how to change the NHS principles, to what drugs and which devices can be permitted. There will be votes on codes of practice and guidance which will make very difficult reading e.g. what exactly is the right way to say to someone with autism whether they want to end their life. They'll be designing the whole system, and each time MPs will have to say yes or no, with a gun against their heads because of auto-commencement. And then if implemented before the election, it will be stories of those ending their lives. They may be the fairytale the campaigners market, or for the 10-11% with complications it may be very different. For those driven to it because of poverty or lack of other options, the stories in constituencies will be a story of a government that didn't solve the other problems and saved money through assisted dying. So it's not a 'one more push' PM, it's a sacrifice your entire party on the alter of your personal belief.

@ChrisRGollop @nmdacosta I appreciate that. I think we can make counter arguments to even the score and it is all pretty pointless. Everyone on all sides was trying their best to advance things they see as morally right.

@Dannythefink @nmdacosta All I’m saying Danny is those in the driving seat of an issue which generates passionate debate and great upset on both sides, and by the way was never raised by Labour during the GE campaign, could have adopted a more conciliatory approach at times.

@ChrisRGollop @nmdacosta I realise people feel passionately on both sides but I think it’s much better if we concentrate on the issues rather than imagine the other side is acting in bad faith.

@Dannythefink @nmdacosta Judging by various comments from Leadbeater and the duplicitous Falconer I imagine good faith was dispensed with some time ago.

@GerryHassan @realhansard It should not be controversial. I agree.

@Dannythefink @realhansard Danny, Big respect for much of your writing. That means you disagree with Netanyahu's trashing of a two state solution. Israel has a right to exist. But it does not have the right to deny Palestine's right to exist. Surely this should be uncontroversial?

Fair enough. Does Daniel Finkelstein support the Israeli government policies though?

@PicoBrained @realhansard Well I agree in essence. But I think Israel must not give up on the idea and I fear that in the government many do.

@Dannythefink @realhansard It is not the Israelis that abandoned the two-state solution. It was never accepted by the Palestinians, and then thoroughly rejected by Hamas on Oct. 7th. It is for the Palestinians to show that two states are possible. The Israelis are just trying to stop them from murdering.

@MoAnsar @EylonALevy @MatthewdAncona @mattzarb @RidgeandFrost @WilfredFrost Thank you for being in touch with your most interesting opinion.

@EylonALevy @Dannythefink @MatthewdAncona @mattzarb @RidgeandFrost @WilfredFrost It’s the fact that genocidal Western European Zionists have NO VALID CLAIM to the lands they occupy. My people, the Bani Israel Hebrew Israelites (20m Pashtun and Kashmiris) are to return. I am to lead them. You’re all on the wrong side of history. Not the Chosen People.

'It's not antisemitic to disapprove of the Israeli govt policies, but it is antisemitic to hold every Jew in Britain responsible for the policies of the Israeli govt' @Dannythefink talks to @WilfredFrost about students reporting a rise in antisemitism at universities

@mattzarb @TorquilMacneil @RidgeandFrost @WilfredFrost Thanks Matt. I think we’ve had a constructive and helpful exchange. It’s too much for everyone to expect to agree on everything but I’m trying to maximise what we do agree on.

@Dannythefink @TorquilMacneil @RidgeandFrost @WilfredFrost I agree with every word you said on the interview clip! Abuse and racism towards Jewish people is horrible and must be stopped, and as you said people must not hold Jewish people responsible for Israeli government actions

@mattzarb @TorquilMacneil @RidgeandFrost @WilfredFrost Why don’t we see where we can agree! I’ve accepted some of your points. Which of mine do you accept? Let’s try to maximise agreement.

@TorquilMacneil @RidgeandFrost @Dannythefink @WilfredFrost I think the charge of antisemitism here, and in other examples, relies upon (and reinforces) the false premise that Israel represents all Jews

@twuntastical @Israel What a pointless waste of time this is.

@Dannythefink @Israel Who decided the survey parameters? Is Israel the worst conflator of Jewish faith/ethnicity? When was your last trip to said rogue state?

So don't believe a word @Israel says then @Dannythefink ? Got it ta...

@MichaelRosenYes @JemadiahRed @mattzarb @RidgeandFrost @WilfredFrost If he said that then I wouldn’t have. There are lots of things that lovely and learned man thinks that I don’t.

@Dannythefink @JemadiahRed @mattzarb @RidgeandFrost @WilfredFrost I thought you might have an opinion on it. It's a very straightforward phrase. I don't like it. I think the 'our' implies 'we Jews'. I don't think of the IDF as either 'mine' or 'ours'. Do you have a view on that?

@twuntastical @Israel Thank you for your further elaboration of your familiar talking points. But is that all you took from what I said?

@Dannythefink @Israel I'm confused, Israel is the biggest purveyor of conflation between those of Jewish faith/ethnicity and the Apartheid, Genocidaire "only democracy in the middle east" with "the most moral army". So surely we should ignore their antisemitic lies?

@MichaelRosenYes @JemadiahRed @mattzarb @RidgeandFrost @WilfredFrost You’ll need to ask him. Why do you feel I’d know?

@Dannythefink @JemadiahRed @mattzarb @RidgeandFrost @WilfredFrost What do you think the Chief Rabbi meant when he spoke in a shul of 'our heroic soldiers'? I thought we have the British Army as 'our' soldiers. What did he mean?