https://www.scmp.com/rss/523104/feed The latest news and top stories on the UK’s parliament. A prominent London-based governmental body, the UK parliament is the supreme legislative authority of the United Kingdom. Located at the Palace of Westminster, its primary mission is to make and change laws, scrutinise government work and approve public spending. Comprising the House of Commons, House of Lords and the Sovereign, it debates key national issues and holds the government to account. Recognised as one of the world’s oldest... en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Associated Press Associated Press A proposed bill to allow terminally ill adults in England and Wales to choose to end their lives failed on Friday as parliamentary time ran out, nearly a year since elected members of parliaments gave their backing. Though the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill was passed by the House of Commons last June, the UK’s revising chamber, the House of Lords, effectively talked it out since then. Proponents of what has been termed “assisted dying” – sometimes referred to as “assisted suicide” –... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3351381/uk-bill-allow-assisted-dying-fails-parliamentary-time-runs-out?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3351381/uk-bill-allow-assisted-dying-fails-parliamentary-time-runs-out?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 24 Apr 2026 15:36:51 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Lawmakers in the Scottish Parliament on Tuesday rejected legislation that would have made Scotland the first part of the United Kingdom to allow terminally ill adults to end their lives. Members of the Edinburgh-based legislature voted 69 to 57 against a bill that would have let people in Scotland with six months or less to live seek help to end their life. There was one abstention. It came after an emotional debate that lasted around three hours and saw lawmakers tear up and applaud as they... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3346944/scottish-lawmakers-reject-bill-let-terminally-ill-people-end-their-lives?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3346944/scottish-lawmakers-reject-bill-let-terminally-ill-people-end-their-lives?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 17 Mar 2026 23:03:42 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press A second British island voted on Thursday to approve assisted dying, as a similar bill that would allow terminally ill adults in England and Wales to choose to end their lives is bogged down in the British parliament. The bill, which requires the formality of approval by King Charles, would allow terminally ill residents who have lived in Jersey for more than a year and are expected to have less than six months to live – or less than 12 months if they have a neurodegenerative disease – to end... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3344783/jersey-votes-approve-assisted-dying-similar-uk-bill-stalls-house-lords?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3344783/jersey-votes-approve-assisted-dying-similar-uk-bill-stalls-house-lords?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 26 Feb 2026 16:47:15 +0000 Jianxi Liu Jianxi Liu “I’m often invited to simply choose between countries. I don’t do that,” UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Monday ahead of his China trip. The visit – after Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Beijing trip drew US tariff threats – is an attempt to drag British foreign policy into alignment with 21st century realities: a world of strategic rivalry but deep economic interdependence. Starmer’s remarks are not diplomatic wordplay, but a declaration the United Kingdom will no longer be a... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3341443/china-visit-starmer-makes-clear-hes-putting-britain-first?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3341443/china-visit-starmer-makes-clear-hes-putting-britain-first?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 28 Jan 2026 12:30:09 +0000 Thomas O. Falk Thomas O. Falk Politics has always been adversarial. In a healthy democracy, that contest is bounded by rules: elections settle disputes, opponents are rivals not enemies, and losing an argument is not the same as losing one’s country. Break those bonds, and the descent from rhetoric to violence is swift, and we are beginning to see the consequences. Political language in the United States has grown increasingly toxic. Partisans no longer accuse one another of being wrong, but of being enemies and traitors.... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3325675/western-society-must-take-firm-stand-against-political-violence?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3325675/western-society-must-take-firm-stand-against-political-violence?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 17 Sep 2025 12:30:08 +0000 Grenville Cross Grenville Cross In his seminal work Introduction to the Study of the Law of the Constitution, the constitutional theorist A.V. Dicey discussed parliamentary sovereignty in the UK. He called Britain’s parliament “an absolutely sovereign legislature” with the “right to make or unmake any law”. Although the doctrine has since evolved, it remains integral to the country’s constitutional arrangements. Whereas the government can invite parliament to enact laws, legislators can refuse. They may, for example, conclude... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3323072/hong-kong-legislators-within-their-rights-reject-same-sex-couples-bill?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3323072/hong-kong-legislators-within-their-rights-reject-same-sex-couples-bill?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 27 Aug 2025 01:30:08 +0000 Edith Lin Edith Lin The first batch of about 600 Hongkongers has been granted settlement in the United Kingdom as of June after the British government introduced a bespoke pathway for residents in 2021, the country’s authorities have said. The Home Office, which handles UK immigration, revealed on Thursday the figures under the British National (Overseas), or BN(O), visa scheme, which typically requires these passport holders from Hong Kong to have five years of continuous residence in the country before becoming... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3322689/first-batch-600-hongkongers-granted-uk-settlement-under-bno-scheme?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3322689/first-batch-600-hongkongers-granted-uk-settlement-under-bno-scheme?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 21 Aug 2025 11:31:01 +0000