News Round-Up

• “Assisted dying Bill could be scrapped before vote” – The assisted dying Bill could be scrapped before it is voted on after a group of cross-party MPs tabled a “wrecking amendment” to stop it, reports the Independent.
• “Why you can’t trust the polls on assisted dying” – The ‘right to die’ lobby is wrong to claim it has the public’s support, says Kevin Yuill in Spiked.
• “‘Why I cancelled my trip to Dignitas’” – A society which values convenience over care detracts from the meaning and purpose of life for everyone around the vulnerable, writes Michelle-Anna Moffat in the Spectator.
• “Britain cannot become a country that nudges its most fragile towards the grave” – The risk of abuse remains clear in the assisted dying Bill, which could eventually lead to state-sanctioned killing, warns Suella Braverman in the Telegraph.
• “Three former Tory prime ministers oppose assisted dying Bill” – Boris Johnson, Baroness May and Liz Truss are the latest former Conservative prime ministers to oppose the assisted dying Bill, reveals the Telegraph.
• “Sadiq Khan comes out against assisted dying Bill” – Sadiq Khan has revealed he would vote against the assisted dying Bill, warning it could lead to the “coercive control” of vulnerable people, reports the Standard.
• “Global deaths from assisted dying surpass 30,000 in a year” – Doctors helped more than 30,000 people to kill themselves last year, setting a record for euthanasia and assisted dying in countries where it’s legal, according to the Telegraph.
• “Lammy vows ‘100%’ co-operation with ICC after Netanyahu arrest warrant” – David Lammy has pledged full cooperation with the International Criminal Court to ensure its work proceeds “without obstruction” following the arrest warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu, reports the Telegraph.
• “Labour’s youth ‘back-to-work’ cash cut plan already happens: minister” – A senior minister has admitted that Labour’s threat to strip teens of their benefits if they don’t try to get a job or train is just a continuation of the current system, says the Mail.
• “Starmer dodges crackdown on sickness benefits” – Labour is set to unveil a flagship back-to-work plan that does not include a crackdown on sickness benefits, reports the Telegraph.
• “Junk food could be hit with more taxes as part of Government’s back-to-work drive” – New taxes on junk food are being lined up to bring down the multi-billion pound sickness benefits bill, says the Sun.
• “Businesses could face further tax raid despite Reeves’ pledge” – Rachel Reeves’ promise not to raise taxes again appears to be in doubt after a Cabinet colleague failed to repeat it, according to the Mail.
• “The proof older voters have turned on Starmer’s Labour” – Labour’s alienation of older voters is laid bare by analysis of the recent viral petition demanding another general election, reports the Mail.
• “Record non-crime hate incidents even if ‘victim’ does not think it is one, police officers told” – Police officers were instructed by bosses to record non-crime hate incidents, even in cases where the supposed victim did not believe a hate incident had taken place, says the Telegraph.
• “‘I‘m bruised but vindicated – and going to war with the police’” – The Telegraph’s Allison Pearson blasts the U.K.’s Orwellian policing of free speech and vows to fight back against this creeping censorship.
• “Abolish recording of non-crime hate incidents, former Supreme Court judge urges” – Lord Sumption thinks non-crime hate incidents should be scrapped because they have become a vehicle for settling grudges, reports the Telegraph.
• “Police forces withdraw from X after Elon Musk takeover” – Several British police forces have largely withdrawn from Musk’s X social media platform, reports Reuters.
• “Don’t expect an end to Europe’s migrant crisis any time soon” – Britain remains a magnet for migrants, and Calais remains the principal assembly point for migrants desperate to reach England, writes Gavin Mortimer in the Spectator.
• “Giorgia Meloni claims ‘higher incidence’ of immigrants in rape cases” – Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni claims that illegal immigrants are responsible for a disproportionate number of rapes in Italy and that the police presence in cities must be upped to make public spaces safer, according to the Mail.
• “Girl admits lying that teacher was Islamophobic before he was beheaded” – The Muslim schoolgirl who accused her teacher of Islamophobia and began rumours that led to a jihadist decapitating him in the street in France has admitted lying and apologised to the victim’s family, reports the Mail.
• “Vauxhall to close Luton factory with 1,100 jobs at risk amid EV row” – Vauxhall’s parent company Stellantis has announced plans to close its van plant in Luton, days after it warned the Government that it could slash production in Britain over Labour’s electric vehicle sales targets, according to the Mail.
• “The fantasy of Ed Miliband’s promise of lower electricity bills” – Mr. Miliband has made himself a hostage to fortune by promising lower electricity prices, says Jermey Warner in the Telegraph.
• “Germany joins backlash against EVs as Scholz criticises emission fines” – Germany has joined a growing backlash against fining car makers who miss Net Zero targets – suggesting the firms should be allowed to keep the money to invest in cutting emissions, reports the Mail.
• “Porsche to stick with petrol engines for ‘much longer’ amid electric car climbdown” – Porsche will stick with petrol engines for “much longer” than previously planned as it pulls back from electric cars, according to motor1.com.
• “‘Zealous’ vegan couple starved three year-old son to death and buried him in garden, court hears” – A court has heard how a “zealous” vegan couple failed to give their three year-old adequate food or summon medical help, then buried him in their back garden, reports the Telegraph.
• “Lockdown measures were necessary despite harm done to pandemic generation, minister insists” – Employment minister Alison McGovern has defended lockdown measures as “necessary” despite concerns they contributed to rising depression among young people, says the Telegraph.
• “Censorship: alive and well” – On the TTE Substack, Dr. Tom Jefferson and Prof. Carl Heneghan reveal how their evidence-based critique of Pfizer’s Covid vaccine regulatory data collided with Facebook’s ideological brick wall.
• “NORTHGroup Denmark calls for investigation and moratorium on modified mRNA products” – On Substack, Jessica Rose spotlights NORTHGroup Denmark’s bold demand for an investigation into – and moratorium on – modified mRNA tech.
• “HHS and MAHA Appointments” – On Substack, Dr. Robert W. Malone explains why the MAGA/MAHA agenda faces an uphill battle.
• “The bureaucratic imperative” – On Substack, Thomas Buckley explores the maddening feedback loop of bureaucracies, where more people mean more problems.
• “J.K. Rowling accuses BBC of ‘spitting in women’s faces’ over Barbra Banda football award” – J.K. Rowling has accused the BBC of “spitting in women’s faces” for naming a Zambian player, withdrawn from a 2022 tournament over sex eligibility rules, as its Women’s Footballer of the Year, reports the Telegraph.
• “The days of woke bullies and their hate campaigns are coming to an end” – HBO’s backing of J.K. Rowling shows that if companies stand firm instead of giving into bleating liberal trolls, the mob is rendered powerless, says Celia Walden in the Telegraph.
• “Why are the police allowing trans officers to strip-search women?” – Vulnerable women should not be told that a biologically male officer is going to strip search them, writes David Shipley in the Spectator.
• “Sacked Santa: Blackpool grandfather ousted for immigration views” – Two local Santas have been given the ‘sack’ for expressing Right-wing political views, reports the Mail.
• “Wolf Hall is now a joyless exercise in virtue-tainment” – Colourblind casting can be a legitimate artistic choice, but not in a realist docu-drama, say Maren Thom and Alex Dale in Spiked.
• “Jaguar’s idiotic response to Nigel Farage has made its PR disaster even worse” – The Telegraph’s Michael Deacon mocks Jaguar’s woke PR disaster as a tone-deaf attempt to woo youth while alienating loyal, older buyers.
• “Walmart’s DEI rollback signals a profound shift in the wake of Trump’s election victory” – Walmart will be cutting back its diversity, equity and inclusion programmes and other forms of what conservatives deride as corporate wokeness, reports Victor Morton in the Washington Times.
• “The anti-white, anti-West ideology poisoning young minds is about to face a reckoning” – Abolishing the U.S. Department of Education and rolling out school choice will hand power from woke educational bureaucrats to parents, says Douglas Carswell in the Telegraph.
• “Woke is waning: was it ever more than a fad?” – Most people haven’t forcibly rejected pronouns or deplatforming; they were never particularly invested in them in the first place, says James Marriott in the Times.
• “Royal Society scientist quits in protest over ‘Bond villain’ Elon Musk’s fellowship” – A professor at the Royal Society has quit in protest over Elon Musk’s fellowship at the institution, accusing the billionaire of “modelling himself on a Bond villain”, according to the Oxford Mail.
• “Stars round on Ed Sheeran over Band Aid row, telling him to ‘shut up’” – Celebrities have turned on Ed Sheeran in the escalating row over the new Band Aid single – with Spandau Ballet’s Tony Hadley telling him to “shut up”, says the Mail.
• “And they wonder why Hollywood is on life support” – Jack David comments on a clip from the press junket for Wicked which, even by woke Hollywood standards, is OTT.

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