UK MPs have voted down legislation that would have legalised assisted dying for terminally ill adults in England and Wales. The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill was defeated at its second reading on Friday 11 September 2026 by 286 votes to 270 — a majority of 16. The result ends the latest attempt to change the law after a two-year parliamentary process and makes it highly unlikely the issue will return before the next general election. What the bill would have done:

On 9 September, Burnham rejected Conservative proposals to partly fund higher defence spending through cuts to welfare, specifically reforms to housing benefit estimated to save around £4 billion. He stated that national security “can’t come at the expense of social security,” arguing that such cuts would risk widespread homelessness and that community resilience underpins broader security. Burnham reaffirmed an “absolute” commitment to defence, pledging to set a path toward

Andy Burnham Tracker on UK Dispatch (ukdispatching.com) is a page that tracks events, appointments, and alleged controversies or “U-turns/scandals” during Andy Burnham’s time as UK Prime Minister. It frames the timeline as beginning on 20 July (presumed 2026), when Burnham becomes Prime Minister after Keir Starmer’s resignation. The site describes itself as monitoring his “progress as PM” and lists numerous dated items, many critical in tone. Entries are not strictly chronolo

As of mid-August 2026, the UK is facing one of its most severe wildfire seasons in recent memory, driven by prolonged drought, extreme heat, and dry conditions that have turned large parts of the country into a “tinderbox.” Nearly three-quarters of England and all of Wales are officially in drought. Fire and rescue services have responded to hundreds of incidents this year, matching or exceeding the total for the whole of 2025 in some periods, with July alone recording the bu

Newly appointed UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham is set to begin his first holiday in office tomorrow, 4 August 2026, according to multiple reports circulating on Monday evening. The 56-year-old Labour leader, who formally took office on 20 July after succeeding Keir Starmer, will step away from Downing Street during the parliamentary summer recess. Critics have already labelled the break a case of “bunking off for a jolly abroad,” with First Secretary of State Louise Haigh exp

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has pledged to tackle small boat crossings across the English Channel with relentless focus after visiting Border Force operations in Dover on Sunday. Speaking following his tour of the Joint Command Room and related facilities, where he met officials from the Border Security Command, National Crime Agency and Home Office teams, Burnham said the government would confront the issue directly rather than treat it as a political football.“Rather than p