The number of people not in work has increased significantly since the pandemic, and the government is preparing to cut costs through changes to the welfare system. On Sky News this morning, Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall was keen to stress that it was the government’s ‘responsibility to provide… new opportunities’ for young people who were out of work, training or education. Kendall told Trevor Phillips there is a ‘lifelong consequence’ when young people do not gain skills or work experience. When pushed by Phillips, Kendall admitted that under the new system, those who ‘repeatedly refuse to take up the training or work responsibilities’ would have ‘sanctions’ on their benefits.
Kendall: ‘it’s important we talk about what makes a good death’
As parliament prepares to vote on the Assisted Dying Bill, Liz Kendall told Laura Kuenssberg that she would vote in favour of the legislation because she believed the safeguards involved were strong enough. Under the proposed laws, a person must have only six months of life remaining, have two independent doctors agree that they are of sound mind, and the case must be approved by a high court judge. Kendall argued that ‘what makes a good death… will be different for different people’, and that a person should have the right to choose. Kuenssberg pointed out that both the Health Secretary and the Justice Secretary are opposed to the bill, but Kendall stressed that it was a free vote, and the government had no official position.
Belgian health minister: assisted dying legislation does not lead to ‘slippery slope’
Laura Kuenssberg also spoke to Belgian health minister Frank Vandenbroucke, whose country legalised euthanasia in 2002. In the UK, many who oppose the new legislation worry about the ‘slippery slope’ when it comes to expanding those eligible for assisted dying. Kunessberg pointed out that in Belgium the legislation was extended to allow assisted dying for children in 2014. Vandebroucke agreed that it was a very ‘delicate issue’, but argued there hadn’t been a ‘slippery slope’ in Belgium. Kuenssberg also asked whether the case study of two twins who had ended their lives because they were going to become deaf and blind sent the wrong message about the rights of people with disabilities. Vandebroucke said it had been found that the prospects of those twins amounted to ‘unbearable suffering’, and that assisted dying had been justified.
Kevin Hollinrake: the government should not arrest Netanyahu
This week the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, and the UK government implied Netanyahu would be arrested if he landed on British soil, with Starmer’s official spokesman saying ‘the government would fulfil… its legal obligations’. On Sky News, Trevor Phillips asked Shadow Housing Secretary Kevin Hollinrake if he would support a decision to arrest Netanyahu. Hollinrake said he would not, describing it as ‘the wrong move diplomatically as well as legally’. He also said the UK shouldn’t leave the ICC. Phillips asked how it was possible to ‘decide when you’re going to accept rulings’ of a recognised court. Hollinrake said ‘courts sometimes get things wrong’, and that we needed to focus on the release of the hostages, and attaining peace in Israel and Gaza.
French foreign minister Jean-Noël Barrot: ‘we should not set red lines’ in support for Ukraine
Laura Kuenssberg asked French foreign minister Jean-Noël Barrot whether he could envisage a day in which French troops were deployed in Ukraine, since President Macron had not ruled out the possibility. Barrot said that Macron didn’t want to set ‘red lines’ but use ‘strategic ambiguity’ in his public messages. Barrot said France would support Ukraine ‘as intensely and as long as necessary’, because Russia’s advances brought the threat closer and closer to the rest of Europe.
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