Politics latest: Assisted dying bill almost certain to fail due to lack of extra debate time

 Peter Mandelson has been seen leaving his London home for the first time since he returned after being arrested on Monday night.

He did not make any comments to the assembled media, getting straight into a car and driving off.

The former UK ambassador to the US was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office on Monday afternoon, and was questioned for eight hours before being released on bail.

He denies any wrongdoing.

A Labour peer has said does not yet think the assisted dying bill will necessarily fail in the House of Lords - but has insisted the process of scrutinising it will take time.

Baroness Berger also warned that trying to legalise assisted dying in England and Wales through a private members' bill (PMB) is "completely inadequate".

Asked by Paste BN if she thinks this is the end of the bill, the former shadow health minister replied: "I don't believe so, at the moment."

But she added that there is "no organisation outside of parliament that has attested to the safety of this bill".

"I have been taking my job very seriously to ensure that if we're going to have this legislation, that it should have those safeguards contained within it and it should be safe," she said.

"We certainly are looking to a number of more sitting days -  Fridays - in the House of Lords to go and continue this meticulous work. 

"Many of us are taking that extraordinarily seriously. It remains to be seen if we will run out of time, but I will continue until this session ends."

Challenged that supporters of the bill have accused peers of intentionally running the clock down, Luciana Berger replied: "We were accused of filibustering before we even started the committee stage in the House of Lords."

She pointed out how the average speech by a peer on the bill is less than four minutes, when the time limit is 10 minutes.

"We are putting forward the case of amendments that, we think, can and should be made," she added.

"I think it's deeply regrettable that the sponsor of the bill, the response in 99% of the cases so far has been to reject any of the proposals being put forward."

She also hit out at criticism from some that religious peers are blocking those without faith from having control of their own lives. 

Berger, who is Jewish, said: "I regret the fact that religion is being used as a tool by which to criticise us when we are just doing the work that we are required to do. 

"It's worth noting that 132 members of the House of Lords have contributed during the course of our committee debate. I would point to the fact that they are from all different backgrounds, some of faith and many not of faith."

We've just been speaking with Charlie Falconer, the Labour peer steering the assisted dying legislation through the House of Lords.

He told our presenter Gareth Barlow that the bill is being "blocked" by "a small minority of peers who are effectively filibustering it" by tabling 1,200 amendments, meaning over nine days of debate, peers have only been able to examine three clauses of 59.

"This is a bill that has very substantial popular support, as revealed by opinion polling over maybe 20 and 30 years, because the current law is absolutely awful, cruel and inhumane," Falconer said.

The former justice secretary went on to say that "the democratically elected Commons" approved the change in the law in England and Wales, but a "small minority in the unelected Lords" is preventing that.

Put to him that those peers are doing their jobs by scrutinising the legislation, and he agreed, saying: "What the Lords should do is scrutinise and improve, and if they disagree... with the contents of the bill, then change the contents of the bill."

That means, he continued, that peers should agree changes to the bill with its sponsors, or vote for amendments and send it back to the Commons.

"What you don't do is block it," he said.

Falconer praised the government for making 16 days available for debate, and added: "What's required is not more time. It is a change in attitude from those trying to block it."

Asked what happens next, he said it is "not too late" for opponents of the bill to agree a timetable for the bill to be scrutinised, potentially amended, and sent back to the Commons, but it "would require a change in attitude on the party of those opposing the bill".

Failing that, he said the Parliament Act should be used so that the Commons can bypass the Lords altogether (read more on that legislation here).

 Jeremy Corbyn's "The Many" faction has won a decisive victory in the first Your Party elections, and is set to become its first leader.

The former Labour leader's slate of candidates won 14 of the 24 seats on the new left-wing party's executive committee, with Zarah Sultana's "Grassroots Left" slate winning just seven.

The result means Corbyn has emerged victorious in what has been a bitter internal power struggle since the party was created last summer.

He is set to become the parliamentary leader, with Sultana also elected to the Central Executive Committee (CEC).

Turnout in the election was 25,347 people, which is 61.8% of verified members.

Corbyn: We will only defeat Reform by working together

Corbyn pledged to work with all members of Your Party to implement a "bold vision" for the UK, saying in a statement: "I am delighted that members have voted for a mass, socialist party that takes the fight to Starmer and Farage.

"Now, the real work begins. We have a precious opportunity to unite our movement around a bold vision for this country - one that creates a more caring, equal and peaceful world for all. I look forward to working with all members to make this vision a reality.

"We are at a dangerous moment. The fear, divisiveness and racism of Reform should not be appeased. It must be opposed. There is only one way we will defeat them: by working together under a common cause of redistribution and peace.

"Together, we can provide hope to those who are fed up with inequality, disempowered by poverty and disgusted by war - and build a society that cares for each other and cares for all."

Grassroots Left: No more witch-hunts or stitch-ups

Reacting to the results, Sultana's group, the Grassroots Left, congratulated "all those elected" and thanked members for voting, organising and campaigning for them.

A spokesperson for Grassroots Left added: "We are delighted that eight women have been elected to the CEC who support our programme for Maximum Member Democracy.

"A significant number of members have signalled their desire for a democratic, accountable and transparent party. We will now be in the room and ensure your voice is heard."

They added that they will push for members to have "real power" and for all branches to be "recognised immediately [and] fully supported". 

In a nod to the battles between the co-founders, the spokespersons added: "Your Party must now work together to become a party of and for the whole left - with no more witch-hunts or stitch-ups. 

"All those who have been expelled should be reinstated. We now need a culture of mutual respect, open debate, and a shared focus on the real issues facing us: inequality, insecure work, crumbling public services, fascism, and a political establishment that keeps letting working people down."

We've been reporting this morning that the assisted dying bill is almost certainly going to fail due to a lack of extra debate time.

But that doesn't mean its over for the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) bill.

While it may not become law before the end of this parliamentary session in May, there are other ways it could still end up in the statute book eventually.

One of these relies on a little know, and even more rarely used, piece of legislation, passed a century ago.

The Parliament Act could be a way for the sponsor of the bill, Kim Leadbeater, to try again to legalise assisted dying.

This Act allows MPs to pass a private members' bill if the House of Lords reject it, by effectively by-passing peers altogether. 

To achieve this, the bill must be passed by MPs twice in two successive sessions, and a year must have elapsed. 

The Parliament Act has been used before for a number of deeply contentious issues, such as equalising the age of consent for homosexual acts to 16, in 2000.

But the Act has been used sparingly over the past century - and would no doubt lead to strong criticism from some MPs and peers.

Our chief political correspondent Jon Craig has examined whether using it is a viable route for Leadbeater - and what her other options now are.

The Metropolitan Police has apologised to the Speaker of the House of Lords, after he was incorrectly named in reports claiming he had passed information to the force that sparked the arrest of Peter Mandelson.

Lord Mandelson, the former ambassador to the US, was arrested on Monday afternoon on suspicion of misconduct in public office. 

He was released on bail in the early hours of Tuesday morning, and has previously denied all the allegations.

But following his arrest, it was reported that the Lords Speaker, Michael Forsyth, had told the force that Mandelson was going to flee to the British Virgin Islands.

These reports were not dismissed by the Met, but it emerged yesterday that it was actually the Commons Speaker, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, who shared this information with police. 

The force apologised to Hoyle for "inadvertently revealing information".

But this morning, Forsyth then demanded an "urgent meeting" with the Scotland Yard, to clarify why he was named and why this was not corrected.

A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said a short while ago: "The Met has also apologised to the Speaker of the House of Lords, following the inadvertent revealing of information into allegations of misconduct in public office."

Lawyers for Mandelson have denied the "baseless" allegation that the former diplomat was going to flee, pointing to him having already agreed to attend a voluntary interview in a fortnight's time. 

They have also asked the Met for the "evidence relied upon to justify the arrest".

Hoyle told MPs yesterday that he passed on information to the police "in good faith, as is my duty and responsibility".

The Crown dependency of Jersey has voted to legalise assisted dying, becoming the second of the British Isles to do so after the Isle of Man.

The vote in Jersey's States Assembly (parliament) was:

• 32 votes in favour
• 16 votes against

Today's vote was the final legislative stage before the bill then goes for royal assent in the UK.

This means that a person with a terminal illness "who is experiencing or is expected to experience unbearable physical suffering" and die within six months, or 12 months with certain neurodegenerative conditions, will be able to choose to end their own life.

In order to be eligible, the person will also have to have been a resident of Jersey for 12 months.

The first assisted deaths could take place there as early as next summer.

The vote comes on the day that Paste BN revealed that a proposed bill to legalise assisted dying in England and Wales is likely to run out of time in the House of Lords and fail.

Dame Esther Rantzen has led the charge for the legalisation of assisted dying, and the news that the bill will most likely fail in the House of Lords was broken by our deputy political editor Sam Coates this morning.

He asked her on Paste BN if she believes this is the end of the road for legalisation, and she replied: "Well if you look round the world, you will see the tide for reform is rising.

"Other countries have already reformed their law. Australia is a very good example. Look what's happening in Jersey and the Isle of Man. Look what's happening in Scotland.

"I think if England and Wales are left behind because of this archaic process which enables unelected peers to block and sabotage what the Commons and the public want, I think that voices will be raised in protest, and it won't do the House of Lords any good in the long run."

Asked if legalisation has now got harder, Rantzen said: "It was always difficult because there were always lobbyists - particularly, I think, religious people who have their own beliefs, which mean that they would choose not to ask for assisted death and who want to impose those beliefs on people like me who don't share them.

"So I can't say it was always easy, but, certainly it's a shame. It's a shame because the debate [...] was done with such power, such emotion, so much experience, particularly, I think, from MPs who had their own medical experience as doctors and psychiatrists, and feel that it's time this cruel, inhumane criminal law was changed.

"And so we got the majority in the Commons, and the Lords are now sabotaging and blocking it."

She declines to blame Sir Keir Starmer for the bill's failure, saying she owes him "enormous gratitude" for ensuring it was "given proper government time for a serious debate".

We've just been speaking to broadcaster Dame Esther Rantzen, who herself has terminal cancer, and is a leading campaigner for legalising assisted dying.

Asked for her reaction to the news that the legislation is going to run out of time in the House of Lords, she told our presenter Gareth Barlow: "This is absolute blatant sabotage.

"This is a handful of peers putting down 1,200 amendments not to scrutinise the bill, which is their job, but to block it.

"A few peers for their own reasons have decided that they're going to stop this going through parliament, and the only way to stop them would be to invoke the Parliament Act, which has happened before, or get rid of the House of Lords - they're clearly not fit for purpose."

The Parliament Act is a century-old piece of legislation that allows the Lords to be overridden in certain circumstances to ensure the primacy of the Commons (read more on it here).

Rantzen goes on to say that the bill likely failing makes her feel "sad" because many countries around the world "have come to the sane, sensible, proper conclusion, which is if you are terminally ill and an adult, and fully competent to make your own decisions, you should have the right to die painlessly and in dignity if life becomes unbearable".

Under the law as it stands, she would not be able to tell her family if she was going to Dignitas in Switzerland for an assisted death, because they would be criminalised, which is "the last thing they need".

"So I'm saying to the House of Lords: how can you be so cruel, so inhumane, and so undemocratic," Rantzen said.

As revealed by our deputy political editor Sam Coates, the landmark assisted dying legislation is now very likely to fail.

The Private Members' Bill was tabled by Kim Leadbeater MP, and passed the House of Commons in a historic vote last year.

But it is now unlikely to pass the House of Lords before the end of the parliamentary session in May, meaning it will fail to become law.

Sam Coates explains what has happened and why: