Last week was a difficult one for Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer for more reasons than one. Firstly, the launch of his landmark immigration whitepaper – which sets out the government’s plans to create a more controlled entry system into the UK – was received with widespread criticism from campaign groups and even his own MPs.
Alongside these political challenges, Starmer faced personal conflict when an arsonist set fire to his house in North London, and his car, resulting in counter terrorism policing investigating the matter. Despite these difficult circumstances, however, the Prime Minister remained unflappable, with his office saying he is “focused on the job at hand and focused on delivering the government’s agenda”.
The controversial Assisted Dying Bill was also the focus of MPs time last week, following Kim Leadbitter MP, champion of the bill, calling for parliamentarians to support an amendment to the legislation, that would spark an assessment of the state of palliative care in the UK. Seen as an olive branch thrown to MPs who are against the bill, Leadbitter argued that improving palliative services should not be in competition with assisted dying. In the debate, MPs also discussed medical participation in assisted dying and the safeguards included in the bill, with parliamentarians voting for healthcare professionals to be allowed to opt out of the process for the procedure, if they choose. Friday’s debate ran out of time, so the legislation will now be revisited on the 13th June, when further debates and votes will take place.
Across the pond, US President Donald Trump embarked on his tour of the Middle East, with stops in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The visit focused on securing major business deals and strengthening ties with the region and resulted in numerous, arguably positive, outcomes. The business deals include a strategic economic partnership with Saudi Arabia and a trade partnership with Qatar. During this discussion Trump also appealed for improved US-Iran relations, as such signalling a potential shift in diplomatic alignment. Lastly, upon Trump’s arrival in the UAE, the US Department of Commerce announced a partnership with UAE-based AI firm G42, to establish the biggest AI centre outside of the United States.
Today, the UK-EU Summit is taking place, with Keir Starmer negotiating with European Union officials, such as European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and António Costa, President of the European Council, on the state of Britian’s relationship with the European bloc. Although the two sides appear to have reached a deal, with the “core details” of the agreement having been reached in the early hours of today, including a 12-year agreement allowing EU fishing boats in UK waters, it is reported that there are still significant sticking points, including issues over a youth mobility scheme and digital e-gates. As such, this will be one to watch as the week continues.
Headlines
- Charities step up pressure on Keir Starmer to scrap two-child benefit cap – The Guardian
- Germany drops opposition to nuclear power in rapprochement with France – Financial Times
- Joe Biden diagnosed with aggressive prostate cancer – The Times
What’s On in Parliament
Monday 19th May
House of Commons
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Oral Questions: Defence
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Legislation: Mental Health Bill (Lords) – Second Reading
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Adjournment: Government community funding and support for local pubs
House of Lords
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Oral Questions: Expanding the electrification of public transport networks to meet their net-zero emissions target
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Legislation: Employment Rights Bill - committee stage (day 4)
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Legislation: Sentencing Guidelines (Pre-sentence Reports) Bill - committee stage
Tuesday 20th May
House of Commons
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Oral Questions: Treasury
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Legislation: Victims and Courts Bill: Second reading
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Westminster Hall debate: Government policies on electric vehicle charging
House of Lords
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Oral Questions: Long-term plan to use assistive technology throughout an individual’s education and adult life
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Oral Questions: Reversing recent declines in healthy life expectancy, and addressing poverty-related inequalities in life expectancy
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Legislation: Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill - committee stage (day 1)
Wednesday 21st May
House of Commons
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Oral Questions: Northern Ireland
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Prime Minister’s Question Time
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Westminster Hall debate: Returning forcibly deported children to Ukraine
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Westminster Hall debate: Broadband and mobile connectivity in rural areas
House of Lords
- Oral Questions: Challenges facing young people from online harms, as raised in the Netflix drama series 'Adolescence'
- Statement: Government Response to the Infected Blood Inquiry
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Legislation: Employment Rights Bill - committee stage (day 5)
Thursday 22nd May
House of Commons
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Oral Questions: Culture, Media and Sport
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Business Statement: Business Questions to the Leader of the House
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Westminster Hall debate: EU-UK summit
House of Lords
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Oral Questions: Recent steps taken towards securing the release of Jimmy Lai
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Oral Questions: Progress in cross-party talks on the reform of social care
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Oral Questions: Plans to improve young people’s media literacy by providing additional resources to schools, in terms of IT equipment, staffing, training and appropriate curriculum materials
Friday 23rd May
The House of Commons is in recess and will next sit on 2nd June
The House of Lords is in recess and will next sit on 2nd June
Consultations
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Narrowing the digital divide in schools and colleges – closes 23rd May
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National day for victims and survivors of terrorism – closes 11th June
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Rules for GCSE qualifications in British Sign Language – closes 25th June
Statistics
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Hate incidents and crimes in Northern Ireland, period ending 31 March 2025 – published 15th May
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UK overseas trade in goods statistics March 2025: import and export data – published 15th May
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Evaluating a new measure of domestic abuse – published 16th May