Esther Rantzen accuses peers of 'blatant sabotage' as assisted dying bill stalls and Greens lead in Gorton and Denton

esther rantzen has accused peers of "blatant sabotage" as a bill to allow assisted dying for terminally ill people with less than six months to live looks likely to fail for lack of debate time, while voting has finished and the Greens appear to be in the lead in the Gorton and Denton by-election count.

Assisted dying bill running out of parliamentary time

The assisted dying proposal, which passed the House of Commons after being introduced by backbench MP Kim Leadbeater, has stalled in the House of Lords and now looks likely to fail before the parliamentary session ends in May. The bill would allow assisted dying for terminally ill people with less than six months to live, and it had backing from a Commons majority despite not having government sponsorship; No 10 allowed a free vote and it was not whipped.

Opponents laid down amendments and debate time is scarce

A small number of opponents in the Lords have tabled so many amendments that the bill will not be voted on in time, with less than six days left for debate before the session ends in May. The Labour whip in the Lords, Roy Kennedy, told a parliamentary committee that the government would not give the bill any more time because there are only a limited number of sitting Fridays left. Extending the parliamentary session to find more time was possible but would have been an extraordinary step.

Esther Rantzen says peers are sabotaging the bill

Dame Esther Rantzen accused some peers of "blatant sabotage" and spoke on Thursday to underline campaigners' frustration that the Lords has frustrated a measure passed by MPs. Supporters say it is undemocratic for peers to block legislation that passed the Commons; opponents say the Commons did not sufficiently scrutinise the bill and that Lords are doing their job. Campaigners echoed esther rantzen's charge as the impasse intensified.

Backers consider using the 1911 Parliament Act as a 'nuclear option'

Leadbeater and Charles Falconer have taken legal and constitutional advice on forcing the bill through in the next parliamentary session using the 1911 Parliament Act, a move some supporters describe as the "nuclear option. " If invoked for a private member's bill it would be the first time that Act has been used in that way. Backers say they have extensive advice showing they could force peers to vote on the bill unamended in the next session, but the procedure requires the bill to be reintroduced and passed again in the Commons in exactly the same form. There are two routes to trigger the Parliament Act: a supporter adopting it at the next private member's bill ballot or the government giving the bill time to return to the Commons.

Greens look to be in the lead in Gorton and Denton

Voting has finished in the Gorton and Denton by-election and the count is under way. Deputy political editor Sam Coates has been looking at the numbers and asked how historic a Green win would be; a Green source said, "We are very confident of a win. " The deputy leader of the Labour party, Lucy Powell, appeared to concede the contest when she spoke live to chief political correspondent Jon Craig, saying she had wanted Angeliki Stogia to be her colleague in Parliament and praising Stogia as a "fantastic MP, " but adding that a large majority in the constituency "hasn't voted for reform" and that the Greens "managed to win the argument" on the day.

Labour tactics, Reform UK competition and local campaign messaging

Some in Labour have begun blaming Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood's immigration policies for the expected loss, a claim that a Green source called "an absolute nonsense. " Reform UK say it is close between them and the Greens and stress that counting is slow and the picture could change. Commentators said Sir Keir Starmer and his party spent the campaign attacking Reform UK and largely ignored the Greens, a misstep described by Alastair Campbell as not just bad tactics but bad strategy. Labour leaflets distributed during the campaign included an Angeliki Stogia message: "I'm standing to be your MP to unite our community and stand up to the divisive politics of Reform. " Other leaflets warned, "Every poll shows only Labour can beat Reform, " "You can't risk Reform. Only Labour can stop Reform, " and "If Reform win, their racist candidate will divide our community. We can't risk that. Don't wake up on Thursday to a racist MP. "

With the parliamentary session due to end in May and less than six days left for Lords debate, the assisted dying bill's backers plan to try again in the new parliamentary session with another backbench bill, and the by-election outcome will be determined as counting continues.