Early evening summary
No medics would be obliged to take part in assisted dying, under a change approved by MPs amid further impassioned debate on the controversial legislation. As PA Media reports, the amendment was passed after MPs debated the terminally ill adults (end of life) bill for four and a half hours. MPs voted for one new clause to be added to the bill, which will ensure “no person”, including any medical professional, is obliged to take part in assisted dying. Doctors already had an opt-out but the new clause extends that to anyone, including pharmacists and social care workers. Another amendment, backed by opponents of the bill, was defeated by a majority of 39. (See 2.36pm.) But, as the debate ran out of time, many amendments were not put to a vote, or even debated properly, leading to complaints from opponents of the bill that the process was “outrageous”. (See 3.04pm.) The bill will return to the Commons for further debate on Friday 13 June.
For a full list of all the stories covered here today, scroll through the key events timeline at the top of the blog.
Starmer's approval rating hits new low, with even Labour supporters giving him negative rating for 1st time, poll suggests
YouGov has released polling suggesting that Keir Starmer, and the Labour party generally, are reaching new lows for unpopularity. It also shows Nigel Farage, and his party Reform UK, gaining approval.
Here are the key findings.
Starmer’s net approval rating has hit a record low, the poll suggests. In its write-up, YouGov says:
Just 23% of Britons now express a favourable view of the prime minister Keir Starmer, a five-point drop from this time last month and equalling his July 2021 nadir as opposition leader.
However, with the proportion of Britons with an unfavourable opinion of the Labour leader rising from 62% in mid-April to 69% today, Starmer’s net favourability rating has sunk to -46, his lowest ever recorded by YouGov.
By contrast, Farage is getting more popular, YouGov says.
A third of Britons (32%) now have a favourable opinion of the Reform UK leader, up five points from mid-April and the highest YouGov has recorded for him since he took over leadership of the party last June.
Six in ten Britons (59%) still hold an unfavourable opinion of the Reform UK leader, giving him a net favourability rating of -27, up from -38 a month ago.
Starmer now has a negative approval rating with Labour voters for the first time, the poll suggests. YouGov says:
This fall in Starmer’s popularity is concentrated among Labour voters, half of whom (50%) now have an unfavourable view of the prime minister, a 17-point increase from mid-April. The proportion with a favourable opinion has correspondingly fallen from 62% to 45% over the last month.
This is the first time Keir Starmer has recorded a net negative approval rating among Labour voters.
The Labour party is more unpopular with voters than it has been for at least eight years, the poll suggests. YouGov says:
[Labour] itself has also fallen to new depths, with 65% of Britons saying they have an unfavourable view of Labour, up from 61% in mid-April and the highest recorded since YouGov began asking this question in June 2017.
By contrast, Reform UK is getting more popular, YouGov says.
With Britons as a whole, Reform UK are now seen more positively than Labour by a comfortable margin for the first time, with the 35% of the public with a positive opinion of the party up seven points from mid-April, while the 54% with an unfavourable opinion is down six points over the last month.
