Prof. Mark Taubert

An article I wrote for the @guardian on the pressures of having to be overly positive - and some of the inherent dangers theguardian.com/commentisfree/…

Assisted dying campaigners are trying to bring back the assisted dying bill... Be a voice for vulnerable women. Please ask your MP to oppose the Bill being brought back: writeonad.theotherhalf.uk

Dalton said she found the assisted dying debate “frustrating, actually, because I hadn’t gone public with my diagnosis … I did find it difficult when people said: ‘I’ve got first-hand experience of this’ and then told a very secondhand experience.” theguardian.com/society/2026/m…

NEW: Andrew George, the Lib Dem MP, issues a statement confirming he is considering reintroducing the assisted dying bill But he wants to have a consultation with constituents first before deciding Another topic he is considering is a palliative care bill to improve access

Eleven members of staff, including doctors and nurses, have been sacked by an NHS trust for inappropriately accessing medical records of the Nottingham attacks victims. Fourteen others have received either final or first written warning. bbc.co.uk/news/articles/…

How about introducing a Private Members Bill to provide equitable access to palliative care across England and Wales? Rather than starting with a Private Members Bill for Assisted Dying? The sequence would be hugely important, given that so many cannot access basic care.

Civility matters.

Being depressed, poor and disabled does ‘qualify’, actually. If someone is depressed because of a new diagnosis of terminal illness - they qualify. Even if the depression is treatable. Even if they have long standing mental ill-health. If someone with a terminal illness says they want assisted death because of poverty, or poor housing, or loneliness, or being a burden - they qualify.

Fix the palliative care crisis first. Then have the assisted dying debate on its merits. Not through a parliamentary shortcut.

The Assisted Dying Bill raised more questions than it answered. My piece in @LabourList >>> labourlist.org/2026/05/assist…

Harsh, but I was always told that if I accessed clinical records inappropriately I would be sacked and struck off. bbc.co.uk/news/articles/…

Considerations for bringing back this exact same Bill (and it would have to be the same, if Parliament Acts is used): 1. The Royal College of Physicians have said her Bill is unsafe 2. The Royal College of Psychiatrists have said the Bill is unworkable, and unsafe 3. The British Geriatrics Society have said the Bill’s safeguards are not adequate 4. Domestic abuse charities have said the Bill is unsafe 5. Organisations representing disabled people have said the Bill is unsafe 6. Royal College of GPs says the Bill lacks adequate safeguards 7. Lord Stevens, ex NHS CEO, said legislating for assisted dying in the current climate of hospice cuts is “utterly ridiculous” 8. MIND says the safeguards are not adequate 9. The CLADD group at KCL have said the Bill is “not fit for purpose” 10. The British Association of Social Workers say the Bill’s is not safe enough 11. The Association for Palliative Medicine have said this Bill is unsafe

Huge thanks to my MP @KerryMP for her support for the Bill thus far. Please help get this over the line and give dying people back the hopes you raised when the Commons passed this Bill almost a year ago. Together we can finish what we started💪

Considerations for bringing back this exact same Bill (and it would have to be the same, if Parliament Acts used): 1. The Royal College of Physicians have said her Bill is unsafe 2. The Royal College of Psychiatrists have said the Bill is unworkable, and unsafe 3. The British Geriatrics Society have said the Bill’s safeguards are not adequate 4. Domestic abuse charities have said the Bill is unsafe 5. Organisations representing disabled people have said the Bill is unsafe 6. Royal College of GPs says the Bill lacks adequate safeguards 7. Lord Stevens, ex NHS CEO, said legislating for assisted dying in the current climate of hospice cuts is “utterly ridiculous” 8. MIND says the safeguards are not adequate 9. The CLADD group at KCL have said the Bill is “not fit for purpose” 10. The British Association of Social Workers say the Bill’s is not safe enough 11. The Association for Palliative Medicine have said this Bill is unsafe

Thank you @EmilyThornberry for voting twice for choice. Dying Britons are relying on you to stand with them again.

The Labour Party must do the hard work of winning back the trust of the people; to do that we must be united. As the ballot for PMBs takes place this morning I’m calling on Labour MPs not to divide us again. Only 6% of voters say this issue is a priority theguardian.com/society/2026/m…

‘The Assisted Dying Bill raised more questions than it answered. These haven’t gone away.’ – @lucianaberger labourlist.org/2026/05/assist…

Considerations for bringing back this exact same Bill (and it would have to be the same, if Parliament Acts is used): 1. The Royal College of Physicians have said her Bill is unsafe 2. The Royal College of Psychiatrists have said the Bill is unworkable, and unsafe 3. The British Geriatrics Society have said the Bill’s safeguards are not adequate 4. Domestic abuse charities have said the Bill is unsafe 5. Organisations representing disabled people have said the Bill is unsafe 6. Royal College of GPs says the Bill lacks adequate safeguards 7. Lord Stevens, ex NHS CEO, said legislating for assisted dying in the current climate of hospice cuts is “utterly ridiculous” 8. MIND says the safeguards are not adequate 9. The CLADD group at KCL have said the Bill is “not fit for purpose” 10. The British Association of Social Workers say the Bill’s is not safe enough 11. The Association for Palliative Medicine have said this Bill is unsafe

Supporters see fresh chance to revive the assisted dying bill, ITV News' UK Editor @PaulBrandITV reports itv.com/news/2026-05-2…

The 20 MPs who were successful in this year’s Private Members’ Bill ballot have been announced. Private Members’ Bills can be introduced by MPs who are not Government Ministers, often known as backbench MPs. It’s up to the MP to choose the topic of the Bill, and the Bill generally attempts to change the law on a specific area. Ballot Bills are usually debated on 13 Fridays in each Parliamentary session. The dates of these sitting Fridays are determined by the Government. MPs who are successful have the next four weeks to decide on the topic of their Bill and what they’d like it to achieve, before presenting it to the Commons on Wednesday 17 June. The 20 MPs successful in this year’s ballot were: Sir Desmond Swayne, Conservative (New Forest West) Lauren Edwards, Labour (Rochester and Strood) Mike Wood, Conservative (Kingswinford and South Staffordshire) Andrew George, Liberal Democrat (St Ives) Dr Luke Evans, Conservative (Hinckley and Bosworth) Sir John Whittingdale, Conservative (Maldon) Jessica Toale, Labour (Bournemouth West) Dr Neil Shastri-Hurst, Conservative (Solihull West and Shirley) Gareth Snell, Labour (Stoke on Trent) Lincoln Jopp, Conservative (Spelthorne) Patricia Ferguson, Labour (Glasgow West) Robert Jenrick, Reform UK (Newark) Damien Hinds, Conservative (East Hampshire) Alistair Strathern, Labour (Hitchin) Clive Jones, Liberal Democrat (Wokingham) Victoria Atkins, Conservative (Louth and Horncastle) Munira Wilson, Liberal Democrat (Twickenham) Steff Aquarone, Liberal Democrat (North Norfolk) Paul Foster, Labour (South Ribble) David Pinto-Duschinsky, Labour (Hendon) *I am very glad to see that Kim Leadbeater MP is not on the list!* She is the one who used this important opportunity to try and bring out an assisted dying Bill. Hope the MPs above do something more useful with their Bills that actually benefit society. Fortunately the Leadbeater Bill failed to pass.

Considerations for bringing back this exact same Bill: 1. The Royal College of Physicians have said her Bill is unsafe 2. The Royal College of Psychiatrists have said the Bill is unworkable, and unsafe 3. The British Geriatrics Society have said the Bill’s safeguards are not adequate 4. Domestic abuse charities have said the Bill is unsafe 5. Organisations representing disabled people have said the Bill is unsafe 6. Royal College of GPs says the Bill lacks adequate safeguards 7. Lord Stevens, ex NHS CEO, said legislating for assisted dying in the current climate of hospice cuts is “utterly ridiculous” 8. MIND says the safeguards are not adequate 9. The CLADD group at KCL have said the Bill is “not fit for purpose” 10. The British Association of Social Workers say the Bill’s is not safe enough 11. The Association for Palliative Medicine have said this Bill is unsafe

NEW: Andrew George tells me the Assisted Dying Bill is ‘definitely definitely’ on his list of Private Members Bills to consider bringing forward The Lib Dem MP came out 4th in the ballot, and voted in favour of changing the law. He was especially angry with the process carried out in the HOL But he stresses he will not make a quick decision, and part of that will be based on whether or not reform of the Lords can come with it

Weaponising the Parliament Acts on such a divisive issue as assisted dying may deliver “victory” for campaigners, but at what cost? It would be foolhardy, petulant and dangerous thecritic.co.uk/campaigners-sh…

MPs beginning to realise that bringing back the original, deeply flawed Medically Assisted Dying bill will prevent them focusing on major UK & international issues (not to mention a future general election...)