Esther Rantzen says peers committed 'blatant sabotage' as assisted dying bill stalls and Greens win Gorton and Denton

The assisted dying bill championed by Kim Leadbeater has run into a blockade in the House of Lords, and esther rantzen has accused some peers of "blatant sabotage" — remarks that add heat to a fight over whether MPs can force the measure through. At the same time the Green Party scored its first ever by-election win in Gorton and Denton, a result that saw Labour tumble to third place and prompted questions about the party's standing.

Green Party claim Gorton and Denton in first by-election victory as Hannah Spencer wins by more than 4, 000

The Green Party won the Gorton and Denton by-election, their first ever by-election victory. Hannah Spencer will be the new MP after winning by more than 4, 000 votes. Reform placed second in the contest, with Labour trailing in third, and the seat had been described as one of Labour's safest.

Observers report family voting in 15 of 22 polling stations; Ballot Secrecy Act 2023 cited

Democracy Volunteers, impartial observers who were allowed into polling stations, released a statement as the polls closed saying they saw family voting in 15 of the 22 polling stations they attended across the constituency of 45 in total. The group said the by-election displayed the highest levels of family voting at any election in their 10-year history of observing elections in the UK. Family voting is where voters confer or direct each other while casting the ballot, and that practice was made illegal under the Ballot Secrecy Act 2023.

Nigel Farage condemned what he called "cheating". When Anna Jones asked cabinet minister Heidi Alexander for her reaction, Alexander — the Transport Secretary — said: "Clearly the reports that came in overnight are concerning. Elections must be conducted in line with electoral law. People should be able to vote in a free way and not subject to any coercion. And so it would be right that the appropriate authorities, including potentially the Electoral Commission, look into those reports. "

Pre-campaign row over Andy Burnham, Labour vote 'cannibalised' and questions for Keir Starmer

The by-election was steeped in controversy even before campaigning began when Sir Keir Starmer blocked Andy Burnham, the popular Greater Manchester mayor, from standing for Labour. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander told Anna Jones she was "not going to re-litigate that" and added: "The National Executive Committee of the Labour Party took a decision that Andy couldn't stand because he was currently the mayor of Greater Manchester. "

Sam Coates, deputy political editor, analysed the data and said the Labour vote had been "cannibalised by the Greens", and commentators noted a massive collapse in Labour's vote within the Manchester suburb that will leave the Keir Starmer project soul-searching.

Esther Rantzen brands peers' tactics 'blatant sabotage' as Lords pile on amendments

Dame Esther Rantzen accused some peers of "blatant sabotage" as the assisted dying bill struggled in the House of Lords. Speaking to a broadcaster on Thursday, she voiced frustration at the pace and volume of amendments being laid down by a small number of opponents in the Lords.

Supporters of the bill say it is undemocratic for peers to in effect block legislation that passed the House of Commons, while opponents argue the Commons did not sufficiently scrutinise the measure and that peers are doing their job. The bill had passed the Commons but did not have government sponsorship; No 10 allowed a free vote and the measure was not whipped.

Parliament Act 'nuclear option' and tight timetable as May session nears end

The bill now faces time pressure in the Lords: opponents laid down so many amendments that it will not be voted on in time to make it through the current parliamentary session that ends in May, with less than six days left for debate. Roy Kennedy, the Labour whip in the House of Lords, told a parliamentary committee the government would not give the bill any more time because there are only a limited number of sitting Fridays left. Government ministers could have extended the parliamentary session to help the bill through, but that would have been an extraordinary move.

MPs plan to try again in the new session with another backbench bill. Kim Leadbeater and Charles Falconer have taken advice on forcing the legislation through next time using an archaic parliamentary procedure. The high-stakes move — described by some backers as the "nuclear option" — would be the first time the 1911 Parliament Act has been invoked for a private member's bill. Backers say they have extensive legal and constitutional advice that would enable them to force peers to vote on the bill unamended in the next session. After the session ends, the bill must be reintroduced and passed again in the new session to trigger the Act's override mechanism, and it must be exactly the same version as passed by the Commons. Two routes exist: a supporter adopting the Parliament Act approach at the next private member's bill ballot, or the government giving the bill time to return to the Commons.

Shelley Herniman and Noah in Chepstow: a personal plea behind the public fight

Shelley Herniman, who lives in Chepstow with her son Noah and his father, said she supports a change in the law so her 19-year-old son would not be forced to leave home and end his life abroad. Shelley had always been firmly against Noah's wish for an assisted death after he was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour, but watching him suffer over more than a year of chemotherapy changed her view: "I brought him into the world and I don't want to take him out of it - but I sure as hell don't want to see him suffer, " she said.

Noah was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour during the Covid pandemic and underwent 74 weeks of chemotherapy. The treatment took its toll: by the age of 15 he weighed 52kg (115lbs) and needed feeding tubes and a wheelchair. He had been expected to have a further 80 weeks of treatment but "his body wouldn't allow it", his mother said. Conversations about going abroad to end his life had been shut down by Shelley in the early years after the diagnosis, but after research and discussion her view changed: "I wouldn't want him to suffer the way I know others have suffered, and I sure as hell wouldn't want him to go to a foreign country on his own and do it. " Noah said: "I want to be able to have a quick and dignified death. "

Politicians in Wales will vote on Tuesday on whether the country should have powers to set up assisted dying services on the NHS if a landmark law passes in Westminster. Assisted dying was rejected as a principle when it was last voted on by the Senedd in October 2024, with nine of the Welsh parliament's politicians abstaining. If the UK Parliament legislation passes, it would become legal in both England and Wales regardless of how the Senedd votes because changes to suicide law are not devolved.

esther rantzen's public criticism and family testimony like Shelley and Noah's have intensified the debate over whether peers should be able to delay or block a law that passed the Commons, and whether rare parliamentary procedures should be used to force a vote in the next session.