Rob George

Lord Stevens, former Chief Exec of NHS England, categorical that the PMB approach has been an utter failure. "The idea that we should legislate, [when so many hospices announcing cuts], when that is the context, right now seems to me utterly ridiculous".

Telegraph View: "If as much time and effort were spent on improving palliative, hospice and NHS hospital care as has been expended on this issue then people may not feel the need to seek an assisted end to their lives." AssistedDyingBill

Profoundly moving story from Baroness Finlay, former BMA president and a leading figure in palliative care, about one of her patients. “36 years ago a GP referred a distraught young man whose prognosis—as estimated by him, the surgeon, and the oncologist—was about three months, saying: ‘He is the most clear-cut case for euthanasia I have ever seen.’ “In total pain, desperate for lethal drugs, with his youngest child only six weeks old, his care was challenging, particularly in the first fortnight. “Eleven years after that visit, and after many times of complex care, David phoned me. His beautiful young wife was dying of advanced cancer. By then a wheelchair user, he and his three children were with her in the hospice as she died. “Just two days ago, I visited David, who—with his three fine adult children who he has brought up on his own despite his disability—said I could speak of this, in tribute to him and all his care has taught me. “They’re watching this debate today. I know they have tuned in. It’s a great privilege to be entrusted with such care.” (h/t @nmdacosta)

❓YET ANOTHER UNANSWERED QUESTION! In response to questioning from @JeremyRBalfour, the Cabinet Secretary can't say which professions or organisations would be able to opt out of assisted suicide processes in Scotland. This is not good enough for a Bill at this late stage.

POLL: just 20% of Scots would support a bill that allows people with anorexia to end their lives. "The Bill has no safeguards to stop women with anorexia finding doctors willing to help them end their recovery." Fiona Mackenzie MBE of @OtherHalfOrg

Did you spot ODOC Director Dr Gillian Wright on Reporting Scotland yesterday? ⚠️ There's still time to make YOUR voice heard: email your MSPs today, asking them to reject the McArthur Bill on 17th March parliament.scot/msps

Why I'm voting against the assisted dying bill:

A fresh perspective (really!) on AS from the National Director of Health and Wellbeing at Public Health Wales, writing at @BMJ_SPCare. Articulates v clearly how “clinical pathways requiring fewer resources tend to become dominant”.

@JeremyVineOn5 Absolutely. As a palliative care doctor supportive in principle, I’m appalled at how this Bill has been pushed by those unwilling to engage with the complexities. Journalists should speak to those of us who do— not just celebrities & politicians. newstatesman.com/politics/uk-po…

Another Friday, another full day of Lords Committee debates - and sadly another insulting row about whether some of us are filibustering. I objected to this misinformation campaign's snidey, nasty, defamatory attacks on individual's reputations.

The UK Govt will not be giving the Assisted Dying Bill extra debate time in the Lords, meaning it will very likely fall. It’s politically toxic and unworkable. So is the Scottish Bill. Time to focus on proper palliative care. order-order.com/2026/02/26/gov…

@Baroness_Nichol Many thanks to you. Says it all really.

@#EstherRantzen

Falconer wants peers to curtail debate on Starmer's Bill and limit their concerns to just 10 issues. IF they agree to his timetable, he's offered to say what he is willing to do on those issues. He isn't offering a compromise nor proactivity - all the movement is on one side 1/

Story after story from Australia of people choosing an assisted death because of a failure of public services.

The thing is @kimleadbeater also did this, and the APM had to write, now Lord Falconer has done so. Well healed lobby group Dignity in Dying will have briefed both, and it forms part of a well established pattern of misrepresenting written and oral evidence in their briefings.

A vote at Third Reading is to endorse all of this!

Big hoo-ha over the past few weeks about @Tanni_GT ‘s amendment about pregnancy. I couldn’t understand why campaigning groups were so het up about it (talking about filibustering+++). It becomes clear that they probably just wanted this cat to stay securely in the bag 👇

Charlotte Ivers, who watched the debate last Friday, pays tribute to the Lords for doing the job the Commons wouldn’t: “For as long as I have been politically sentient, I have been in favour of assisted dying. In fact, it was…always one of my most strongly held political views…. “And yet as the legislation has come closer to actually becoming law, I have become far less convinced…primarily because I was worried that parliament was rushing this bill through with far too little scrutiny.”