Phillip Brightmore

Bookish by nature. Views expressed my own & certainly not those of @WirralCouncil

[Nicola Burkinshaw @NABurkinshaw]

Nick Cave responding to a grieving mother who worries that she forsaw, or perhaps even willed, the death of her young child is one of the most beautiful things you will read today.

[Sayeeda Warsi @SayeedaWarsi]

As people of all faiths, ethnicities and backgrounds, today we stand with Britain’s Jews.
An attack on one community is an attack on all of us.
United we stand
Divided we fall

[Francisco Ribeiro @fraveris]

Kaoru Yamada

[Impressions @impression_ists]

Childe Hassam, Sunset at Sea

[Impressions @impression_ists]

Henri Matisse

[(((Dan Hodges))) @DPJHodges]

Stop speculating on the terrible events in Liverpool. It helps no-one. Wait for the facts.

[Patrick Hurley @patrick_hurley]

Please don’t share the video of what is obviously a very distressing and horrific scene in Liverpool city centre. And please let the police do their job without hindrance. The best place to be tonight is with your families not doomscrolling on social media.

[Impressions @impression_ists]

Vincent van Gogh, Landscape Under a Stormy Sky

[Matthew Patrick MP @Matthew_Patrick]

Antisocial behaviour can't be dismissed as low-level when we see the devastating impacts it has on people's lives in communities across Wirral West.

We need to get a grip on this issue, which is clearly a gateway drug to criminality.

Share your views on antisocial behaviour by filling in my survey: https://t.co/mePH0HYNjG

[Olga Tuleninova 🦋 @olgatuleninova]

Matteo Massagrande

Balcone sul mare
“Balcony on the Sea” (2016).

[Claude Monet @artistmonet]

Sainte-Adresse, Fishing Boats on the Shore, 1867 #artbots #monet

[Olga Tuleninova 🦋 @olgatuleninova]

Georges Braque (1882-1963), Canal Saint-Martin, 1906, 50.2 × 61 cm, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (John A. and Audrey Jones Beck Collection).

[Darren Markland @drdagly]

So, during the pandemic I had a young angry man who chose not to be vaccinated. He was convinced that his youth and vigour along with some questionable supplements would keep him healthy. He took no precautions and actually attended a COVID party.

[ThinkingWest @thinkingwest]

You’ve probably heard the words “Baroque,” “Gothic,” or “Romanesque” in relation to architecture—but what do these terms actually mean?

A guide on the major Western architectural styles🧵

(you’ll want to bookmark this thread)

[Olga Tuleninova 🦋 @olgatuleninova]

“Claire in an interior”
Leon De Smet (1881-1966) was a Belgian luminist, impressionist, expressionist and pointillist painter.

[Liverpool Echo @LivEchonews]

The notification of increases charges and rents before Christmas was claimed to be "insensitive and unfair"

https://t.co/vv4siKWWdb

[Ed Barnes @edbarnesjourno]

A social housing provider has been slammed over plans to increase fees for its tenants by @lizgrey_ with concerns they could leave people without a home. One woman told me she was getting by on powdered soup and pot noodles
https://t.co/jKzWU9QbsY

[Wirral Globe @WirralGlobeNews]

Wirral MP welcomes 'Plan for Change' https://t.co/zyFSj0TxmS

[Matthew Patrick MP @Matthew_Patrick]

Yesterday, Parliament voted in favour of the Assisted Dying bill. I voted against and – as I committed to my constituents – I am writing to explain why.

Thanks

Before I do that, I would like to place on record my thanks to the very many people who contacted me about this.

This was a difficult, finely balanced decision. Ahead of it, I recognised the duty I owed to my constituents – as well as to myself and the wider country – to read widely, engage extensively and think deeply until the last moment. To be as informed as possible when reaching a final position.

Many people shared their views and experiences with me. Those letters and emails, calls and meetings, public discussions and social media posts, moved me and helped me decide how to vote. I will be forever grateful for the generosity, bravery and thoughtfulness of those contributions. Some of the stories I read will stay with me for a very long time.

Vote

In principle, I support assisted dying. I want people to have dignity at the end of their lives and, with strong safeguards, a say in how they die. But yesterday, I found myself unable to vote for this bill.

I believe that getting this wrong would have incredibly serious consequences, and the risk of getting it wrong with a broken NHS is too high. These are not conditions anyone would wish for our NHS – nor are they conditions I believe anyone would choose to be the landing strip for assisted dying.

Whilst many people shared fears about coercion, I was particularly concerned about people – many of whom already vulnerable by reason of their illness and care needs - feeling a duty to die. People who might be worried that they are burdening their family or society and opting to get out of the way. Many of my MP colleagues eloquently set out these concerns in the debate yesterday, including the particular risk to those from minority groups.

It was an extremely difficult decision, but it is for those reasons that I voted against.

Next steps

The Bill has passed its second reading. It is now time for Parliament to scrutinise and debate the details before bringing it to a final vote. It is now the duty of the whole house to ensure that the Bill is in the strongest position – addressing as many of the concerns people have expressed as possible – before being brought back for its final vote. I hope that the next stage of the bill does provide the opportunity to add in safeguards which will alleviate the concerns raised by myself and others. This responsibility is not lost on me, and I will now turn my focus to this work.

Matthew Patrick