Politics

[ad_1] Former Labour prime minister Gordon Brown has gone public with his opposition to assisted dying. The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, which would allow some terminally-ill people to have a medically-assisted death, is set to be debated by MPs on Friday next week. Labour MP Kim Leadbeater has introduced the bill, saying it could prevent harrowing deaths, following a long campaign by supporters of the position, including

[ad_1] Sir Keir Starmer has said he is "determined" British border checks in Calais will continue.A coalition of French mayors has called for an end to a deal that allows UK immigration checks to be carried out before crossing the English Channel.The prime minister said he would be "taking this up with the French authorities".Sir Keir told BBC Radio Kent: "We need those checks to be carried out there."I'm taking

[ad_1] The prime minister has insisted it "makes sense" to cut winter fuel payments to millions of pensioners, as he was pressed on the change in a series of BBC local radio interviews in Downing Street. Sir Keir Starmer was repeatedly asked why he was "picking a fight" with pensioners, and about warnings that more would fall into poverty as a result and that some would die. He said it

[ad_1] Getty Images"Hooligans who wreak havoc on local communities" could face up to two years in jail under the plans to tackle anti-social behaviour, the government has said. Police and councils in England and Wales will be able to apply for new "respect orders" to ban persistent offenders from town centres or from drinking in public places like High Streets and parks. Breaching the orders will be a criminal offence,

[ad_1] The "feudal" leasehold system in England and Wales will be overhauled by the end of the current Parliament, the government has announced, as campaigners raise concerns about delays.Millions of leaseholders currently own the right to use their property for a period of time and can pay hundreds in annual ground rent to a freeholder - on top of separate service charges.Announcing a new timetable for reform, Housing Minister Matthew

[ad_1] Essex Police says it is not taking any further action against Allison Pearson after an investigation into a social media post by the Daily Telegraph columnist.The investigation has been closed, but there will be an independent review of the force’s handling of the matter, a police statement said.The force previously defended its actions after Pearson said she was left "dumbstruck" by a visit to her home on Remembrance Sunday.The

[ad_1] Getty ImagesJohn Prescott, the Labour Party stalwart who rose from being a steward on a cruise ship to serving as deputy prime minister for a record ten years, has died at the age of 86. Former prime ministers Sir Tony Blair and Gordon Brown led tributes to Lord Prescott, one of the most colourful politicians of their era. Here are seven of his most memorable moments. Barnstorming speech bails

[ad_1] PA MediaJohn Prescott out campaigning in Hull during the 2017 election John Prescott's constituents have remembered him as a "strong character who did good for the city".The former Labour MP, who has died at the age of 86, represented Hull East for 40 years after first being elected in 1970.It is the industrial heart of the city, with many factories such as cleaning products maker Reckitt Benckiser, as well

[ad_1] Defence Secretary John Healey has launched an investigation into whether there are long lost or hidden documents that reveal military chiefs secretly monitored the health of men who witnessed nuclear bomb tests in the 1950s.John Healey told MPs that while “nothing is being withheld”, officials would carry out a “detailed dig” amid concerns from the surviving veterans.The pledge comes after the BBC screened a special documentary on Wednesday into

[ad_1] John Prescott, who has died aged 86, was a figurehead of New Labour, who was also instinctively sceptical of some of its instincts.He was a bridgehead to Labour's traditional working class roots who saw the value in, and indeed personified, championing the aspirations of the less well off.His value to Tony Blair, who swept to a landslide victory in 1997 and went on to win two further elections with