James Mildred

Director of Comms and Engagement @careorguk and co-host of the @holpolpod. Interested in theology + politics. All views here are my own.

[Christian Action Research and Education @careorguk]

"As Christians pray about the upcoming contest, I would also urge them to look at the characters on display."

https://t.co/cou4oB5RHa

[Danny Kruger @danny__kruger]

As MPs consider whether to bring back the Bill for Assisted Dying that fell in the last session - spare a thought for the people who actually care for the dying. Prospect Hospice near Swindon in my constituency is running at half its potential capacity, with 6 beds open rather than 12, meaning they turn away 6 dying people per week. Patients are ending their lives in corridors in Great Western Hospital, 4 miles away, because of a failure to fund end of life care.

Meanwhile over in Devizes Julia’s House, a hospice for the most seriously ill children - including terminally - is scrabbling for money to keep open. The most moving visit I’ve paid as an MP was to Julia’s House: a truly wonderful place, full of sadness and goodness. Yet they only get 8% of their income from the government.

Hospices (a British invention) are the best institutions in the world. It’s great they attract so much philanthropy - long may it continue - but they deliver a service that is clearly healthcare, and the NHS is legally obliged to fund it; but it doesn’t, because there is no definition of what ‘it’ is. The government urgently needs to bring forward minimum standards that local health commissioners must follow in meeting their obligations to fund palliative care.

[Diane Abbott @HackneyAbbott]

The assisted suicide Bill should not come back via a private member's Bill as it became a farcical process and a terrible policy mess.
Campaigners need a party or parties to support it. Labour does not and it was not in the 2024 manifesto.

https://t.co/PAp4BE99os

[James Mildred @JamesMildred]

I hope and pray they have the good sense to leave the flawed assisted suicide bill well alone.

[Jessica Elgot @jessicaelgot]

NEW - Two assisted dying supporters have come second and fourth in the private members bill ballot

- Lauren Edwards
- Andrew George

If they choose to take on the bill, it is possible it could still pass (but it is still very difficult)

[David Smith MP 🌹 @dsnorthnorth]

This is extraordinarily clear and to the point by @ashleydalton_mp. There is no simplistic or binary view on #AssistedDying according to one’s experience of or proximity to terminal diagnosis.

What I’m sure we all agree on is Ashley’s courage. https://t.co/Zbiv0j83J7

[Lily Lamb @DrLilyLamb]

‘How much better it would be if they used their time and energy to campaign for comprehensive palliative care throughout the UK — and tackled the scandalous hospice funding crisis. The priority should be assisting and caring for the living, not assisting suicide’. Well said @DavidAltonHL

[Graham Nicholls @gpnicholls]

@JamesMildred joins @affinitytalks podcast - have a listen and let us know what you think

[Evangelicals Now @EvangelicalsNow]

"Perhaps the most important thing we need is servant-hearted leadership," writes James Mildred. "This is the most important ingredient because it is what stops strong leaders acting like dictators. We need leaders who care less about themselves. We see this most beautifully in Jesus..."

Read more from @JamesMildred: https://t.co/eEOowDU730

[Christian Action Research and Education @careorguk]

Is the PM on the brink?

Watch the latest episode of the engage podcast below.

https://t.co/einu9TQmGn

[Evangelicals Now @EvangelicalsNow]

🤔"You might assume that a political party that owns the words 'Liberal' and 'Democrat' in its name would be welcoming of differences of opinion."

@careorguk

✍️ @JamesMildred examines the 'neither liberal nor democratic' case of @DavidCampanale: https://t.co/kaSaGPqNwN

[James Mildred @JamesMildred]

I'm delighted @DavidCampanale has won. It has been a long road for him, but the outcome from the courts is vindication. He was mocked and abused simply for being a Christian.

@LibDems have big questions to answer. There was nothing liberal about how David was treated.

[James Mildred @JamesMildred]

This is balanced and a fair assessment of how the assisted suicide bill was killed off 👇

It is staggeringly ironic that DiD cry foul and say it was blocked by a small group of ideological Peers.

They are no less ideological. They just lost the debate.

https://t.co/RVwiVbEfSR

[Christian Action Research and Education @careorguk]

New polling released this week from JL Partners shows there is no public consent for the passage of Kim Leadbeater's assisted suicide Bill. When informed about the details of the Bill before parliament, “the British voter wants nothing to do with it” said James Johnson who conducted the poll.

https://t.co/WppDFOJkzv

[Christian Action Research and Education @careorguk]

The long-awaited guidance on same-sex spaces will now be published next month, after the elections on 7th May. The guidance covers the use of same-sex spaces, such as toilets and changing rooms, for transgender people.

https://t.co/8kGQ5Ul1RO

[Politics Global @PolitlcsGlobal]

🚨🇮🇲 NEW: The UK Government says it is unable to recommend the Isle of Man’s Assisted Dying Bill for Royal Assent due to concerns it might not comply with the ECHR

[@manxradio]

[Christian Action Research and Education @careorguk]

V important comment from @JLPartnersPolls. The British public used to back #assistedsuicide. But then they saw the Leadbeater Bill.

And now they don't.

Backs up polling we did in 2014: the more people engage w/key arguments, the more they reject AS.

https://t.co/TYQYkiDZMH

[David Maddox @DavidPBMaddox]

Just pointing out that I broke the story 7 months ago that Mandelson failed vetting from the security services and put it to Downing Street...so the idea that Downing Street only found out on Tuesday is complete nonsense.

https://t.co/9Zp14BGCoD

[Steven Swinford @Steven_Swinford]

The government's official line this morning is that the appointment of Mandelson despite the fact he failed to clear vetting is a ***'failure of state'***

I'm not sure that's right. On any level - even taking the government's position at face value - this is a failure of individuals

There is the failure of Robbins and other senior officials in the foreign office to inform No 10 about the fact that he had failed to clear vetting

There is the failure of Number 10 and the prime minister to establish the basic facts over a period of many, many months to such an extent that he made public statements that were untrue

It's always easier in situations like this to blame systems, to talk in abstract terms. But it ultimately comes down to individuals making bad decisions

[UCB News @UCBNewsTeam]

Christian campaigners say a vote in favour of changes to the Crime & Policing Bill is a monumental "step forward" in protecting children & young people from online pornography.
UCB News' @Robwestall spoke to Tim Cairns from Christian charity Care 🔊:

https://t.co/bl8LSmhCFz

[Evangelicals Now @EvangelicalsNow]

The upcoming prorogation of the UK Parliament will see the assisted suicide bill fall, having run out of time to progress through all stages.❌

✍️ @careorguk's @JamesMildred outlines what is likely to come next in the long-running saga: https://t.co/jDip6T12OX