In the week where the Assisted Dying Bill passed its second reading , with the first change within Starmer’s Government and more election interference concerns across Eastern Europe, here is your Weekend Wire…

Assisted Dying

The vote on the Assisting Dying Bill took place yesterday with the bill passing its second reading in the House of Commons. The result was not as close as many had expected with 330 voting yes to 275 against. While this was an important indicator on whether this bill will pass, a reminder that it does not become law just yet with  scrutiny at the Lords and Committee stages next.

The bill had proven to be highly controversial ever since it was introduced by Kim Leadbeater as the first private members bill of the new Parliament.

The rare free vote - often held on issues of conscience (although isn’t all politics an issue of conscience) - enabled members of the House to vote independently of their party whips. The vote was the first time the issue had come before the House since 2015 and had been billed as a ‘once in a decade’ opportunity.

Assisted dying is legal in many countries around the world including Canada and Switzerland, as well as other European countries like the Netherlands and Spain. Keir Starmer’s cabinet as well as medical professionals have been split on the issue, with many citing their concern about the timing of the Bill at a time where our health and social care systems are so damaged.

But the bill has been remarkably popular with the public for a number of years, with a recent YouGov poll showing that 73% of Britons believe that assisted dying should in principle be legal.

Losing Haigh

Yesterday morning Louise Haigh became the first member of Keir Starmer’s cabinet to resign following revelations that she pleaded guilty to a fraud offence in 2013. The decision by Haigh to resign so quickly will likely provide solace to Starmer following a summer of bad press. 

Haigh made history when she was appointed to the Cabinet, becoming the youngest ever woman to hold a cabinet post. The Prime Minister thanked Haigh for her contributions in office, saying that she had taken “huge strides to take our rail system back into public ownership”.Whilst Mick Lynch, the General Secretary of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union similarly praised her for “laying the foundations for the public ownership of our railways”’ stating that Haigh had “achieved a great deal”.

The Prime Minister has appointed Heidi Alexander, previously a junior minister in the Department of Justice, as the new Transport Secretary.

TikTok on democracy

Another week and another poll-defying result in Eastern Europe, this time in Romania. Following hot on the heels of the controversial Moldovan and Georgian elections, the first-round of the Romanian Presidential election took place last weekend. Călin Georgescu, running as an independent, won 22.9% of the vote on an ultranationalist platform. 

Georgescu is the latest pro-Putin Eastern European politician to outperform pollsters’ expectations in a result that has sent shock waves around Bucharest, the country and beyond. Campaigning on a pro-Russian and anti-Nato platform, Georgescu had been polling at a mere 5% before the election. 

On Thursday, Romania’s top court ordered a recount of votes following the election, whilst the Romanian Presidency has reported that officials noted “cyberattacks aimed at influencing the correctness of the electoral process”, suggesting Russian interference.

Georgescu who utilised Tik Tok extensively for his campaign, garnered more than 330,000 followers and over 4 million likes on the platform. However the outgoing President, Klaus Iohannis, has argued the platform failed to mark him as a political candidate, allowing Georescu to spread misinformation without the necessary scrutiny. As a result the Chinese owned platform has come under increasing pressure.

Unrest in Georgia

There was unrest in Georgia on Thursday night after the Georgian Government announced plans to halt the EU ascension process until at least 2028. The announcement came shortly after the European Parliament rejected the result of the recent Georgian election. The ruling Georgian Dream party has been accused of being sponsored by Russia and the skirmishes between protestors and police this week were inspired by fears over Georgia’s slide towards Moscow.

Dinners on us

Sir Keir Starmer will be invited to dine with the leaders of the 27 EU member states on February 3 by Antonio Costa, the incoming President of the European Council. In a promising move ahead of  Starmer’s second meeting with EU Commission President Ursula van der Leyen, the invitation from Costa is another indication of the EU’s willingness to play ball when it comes to a UK-EU relationship reset.

Does anyone need a job?

The Government is currently hunting for a new negotiator to drive the aforementioned UK-EU relationship reset. The job posting offers the chance to be the ‘principal adviser to the Prime Minister and the Minister for European Union relations on matters relating to relations with the EU and delivering the “EU reset” and on international economic issues’. Time to get your CVs ready!

More de-alignment…more problems

On 13 December the European Union will be introducing what is known as the General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR). The bill will cause massive headaches for UK businesses as our own safety regulations diverge from the new stricter rules soon to be introduced in the EU most notably that any products manufactured outside the bloc need a ‘responsible person’ based in one of the EU27 ruling out many British sole traders from exporting to the EU and Northern Ireland. If only there was someone campaigning for some kind of regulatory alignment…

Not another one?!

Another week, another election. Brenda from Bristol really should have trademarked her infamous reaction, we would have to pay her millions. Yesterday across the Irish Sea, the Republic of Ireland voted for its next government with three parties polling neck and neck; Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin.

While Sinn Féin previously looked dead cert to sweep to power earlier this year, a litany of scandals and cover ups cut their commanding poll lead of 36%  in half prompting the ruling coalition of previously bitter rivals Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil to call a snap election. All was going to plan until poor comms throughout the campaign from the “Tik Tok Taoiseach” made the race neck and neck between the three main parties. All eyes will therefore be on how independent candidates perform as they could well be the kingmakers in any future ruling coalition.

While we may get an idea of how people voted today, Ireland's system of proportional voting means results may only become clearer tomorrow evening or possibly even Monday.

Ceasefire in Lebanon

In a rare piece of good news for the Middle East, a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon began on Wednesday this week. The ceasefire, which includes a staged 60-day withdrawal by the Israeli Defense Force, is thought to be fragile but is thus far holding up.

🎄 Are those Jingle Bells I hear?

Today marks National Personal Space day. Perhaps Elon Musk could learn to keep his odious paws out of British politics and stop pandering over Reform mayoral candidates…

Have a wonderful weekend, I will catch up with you again soon.

Joshua Edwicker
Best for Britain