Politics
Canada’s suicide service is coming to Britain
If you want to glimpse Britain’s potential dark future, look west to Canada.
In 2016, Canada legalised Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) for the terminally ill. MAID was sold as a state-controlled solution to suffering, and came with all the usual reassurances that it was intended only for the dying, the desperate, and those with few other alternatives. Ten years on, it’s a machine for death.
Now, people with chronic illness, disability or even depression can be legally euthanised via MAID. Soon, those with any mental illness will qualify. Minors could be next. If any ‘safeguards’ existed, they have long since dissolved.
If Keir Starmer’s government gets its way, Britain could be in line for its own ill-defined, industrial-scale assisted-suicide policy. After all, Canada’s campaigners started from a suspiciously similar place to their UK counterparts, who insist that assisted suicide is about empathy and agency. Look where things ended up.
In 2022, 13,241 Canadians died through MAID. That’s 4.1 per cent of all annual deaths. The UK equivalent would be around 30,000 deaths a year. A third of Canadians who sought MAID cited ‘being a burden’ among their reasons for wanting to die. If we follow Canada’s lead, there is a danger that vulnerable and elderly people, as well as those with disabilities, will feel obliged to consider assisted suicide so as to relieve pressure on their loved ones. This is not so much a clear-headed ‘choice’ as an escape hatch from shame.
One recent case says it all. Kiano Vafaeian, a 26-year-old blind man, sought euthanasia while suffering from what his family described as ‘seasonal depression’. After being rejected by several doctors, Vafaeian turned to Dr Ellen Wiebe, a notoriously prolific practitioner of MAID who claims to have helped over 500 patients die. Wiebe allegedly ‘coached’ him on how to qualify as a ‘Track Two’ patient – that is, the programme for patients whose natural death isn’t deemed ‘reasonably imminent’. News of Vafaeian’s death only reached his parents days later. Apparently, the system couldn’t give him the support he needed to get through his depression, but it could give him a lethal injection. A policy sold as ‘compassionate’ resulted in a young man ending his life at 26, with the help of the state.
Canada is still sliding down the slippery slope. In 2021, the requirement that death be ‘reasonably foreseeable’ for candidates to qualify for MAID was quietly dropped. From March next year, those suffering solely from mental-health problems will be eligible. The government is already consulting on whether it should include ‘mature minors’ and babies as possible candidates for euthanasia.
Tellingly, a 2017 study in Canada’s leading medical journal proudly highlighted that premature deaths from MAID could save as much as $138.8million annually in healthcare spending alone. It is difficult to imagine a more dystopian venture than calculating the cost efficiency of euthanising citizens.
Even more concerning is the turnaround in public attitudes to MAID. A 2023 poll found that 27 per cent of Canadians support assisted dying for people in poverty, and 28 per cent for those who are homeless.
Britain is by no means immune to this. The Dignity in Dying campaign – alongside MP Kim Leadbeater and Labour peer Charlie Falconer, who are sponsoring the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill – is pushing for assisted suicide to be forced through parliament, without the usual scrutiny. Falconer is even willing to resort to the Parliament Acts to ensure the bill bypasses the House of Lords – a mechanism that has never before been used for a Private Member’s Bill. Centuries of legal protections could soon be wiped away.
For now, the British public is not sold. Polling shows that support for assisted dying plummets when people learn how far the policy would really go. Initially, many assume it’s about easing the final hours of pain. It’s not. It’s about giving the state power to facilitate death long before it would have naturally occurred.
Canada is currently living through that reality. A Veterans Affairs Canada caseworker was found to have offered MAID to veterans seeking help for PTSD, instead of the therapy they need. The veterans department even advised Christine Gauthier, retired corporal and former Paralympian, to consider ending her life when she requested a wheelchair ramp for her home. Clearly, MAID does not offer ‘autonomy’ in the way our well-off, comfortable and able-bodied politicians would have us believe.
Already in Britain, it has become acceptable to suggest that some lives aren’t worth living. In 2024, columnist Matthew Parris predicted that ‘“Your time is up”… may one day be the kind of unspoken hint that everybody understands. And that’s a good thing.’ Hinting that people would be better off dead than living with a disability, being old, or simply being costly – that’s the endpoint of legalising euthanasia and pretending it’s about choice. Really, it’s about making the choice to stay alive that little bit more difficult.
For some, supporting assisted suicide really does come from a place of compassion. But as far as the state is concerned, it’s about control. In Canada, it’s about tidying away the inconvenient, the lonely, the dependent, the no-longer-productive. Assisted suicide gives this a legal, antiseptic gloss. It swaps social solidarity for the syringe.
It could happen in Britain. It takes just one slick campaign, one emotional appeal, or a government bent on forcing a moral revolution through parliament by deceit. But once we cross that line, it will be near impossible to backtrack.
If Keir Starmer really wants to ‘modernise’ Britain’s laws on assisted suicide, perhaps he should start by learning from other nations’ mistakes. If we start ‘assisting’ people to die, it won’t be long before we forget how to help them live.
Fleur Elizabeth Meston is a writer and activist based in London.
On 21 February, we reported on disturbing comments from the US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee. Our focus was that Huckabee wants the world to pay Israel reparations for the genocide it inflicted upon Gaza. It’s another comment from Huckabee which has caused international controversy, however, especially in the Middle East:
🚨 BREAKING: Mike Huckabee just triggered a full-blown diplomatic backlash.
After saying it would be “fine” for Israel to take over the Middle East, 14 countries + major regional blocs publicly condemned him.
Jordan. UAE. Saudi Arabia. Egypt. Türkiye. Indonesia. Qatar. Lebanon.… pic.twitter.com/KuCsIh6TMz
— Brian Allen (@allenanalysis) February 21, 2026
The Middle East United
As we reported yesterday, Huckabee is an American evangelist:
Many American evangelicals support Israel, but not because they like Israelis. In actuality, they think the creation of Israel is a signifier that the end times are approaching, and that Israel will trigger the Rapture.
If you’re unfamiliar with the term, the ‘Rapture’ is the time when God calls his faithful back to heaven. Said ‘faithful’ will not include the Jewish men and women who live in Israel, even if they do play an instrumental role in jump starting the Armageddon.
While it’s perfectly possible for faithful people to serve in government, it’s a different story for zealots. The response to Huckabee’s comments demonstrate why that is.
The following is what Huckabee said:
mike huckabee cares more about the greater israel project than he does about americans. he cares more about israel than the majority of american jews. totally insane person. https://t.co/BjbooXPuXI
— hasanabi (@hasanthehun) February 21, 2026
In the clip, Carlson makes it clear that Huckabee’s vision of an expanded Israel would mean the overthrow of every sovereign country in the Middle East. Huckabee says he would be “fine if they took it all”.
You know your interview with Tucker Carlson could have gone better when you united the entire Muslim world (probably for the first time ever) in condemnation. https://t.co/pZeZUAKbO4
— Shaiel Ben-Ephraim (@academic_la) February 21, 2026
Just imagine the response if a Chinese ambassador said he would be fine with Mexico taking over all 50 US states.
The problem for Donald Trump is that he’s sought to have good relations with the wealthier Middle Eastern countries. Now, Saudi Arabia and others have made it clear they’re furious with the Trump regime’s messaging:
The worst US diplomatic blunder in recent memory. Huckabee just set our relations in the M.E. back decades and destroyed any trust they may have in the US.
This is what happens when you hire maniacal religious zealots to represent you overseas.
Huckabee must go immediately before… https://t.co/p1jw5K3Pmm— Daniel McAdams (@DanielLMcAdams) February 21, 2026
Alliances
Obviously it’s a problem that the West is most comfortable with the wealthy Middle Eastern countries which use literal slaves. At the same time, Huckabee’s comments have just made it more difficult for the US to wage another devastating war in the Middle East:
I guess we owe Huckabee a “thank you.” https://t.co/egbtBaWcZq
— Daniel McAdams (@DanielLMcAdams) February 21, 2026
Much like in Europe, Middle Eastern countries may be realising that the US only looks out for itself.
Featured image via Trade Mark Room
A new poll conducted by Opinium has wrecked the far-right myth that Muslims in the UK and US are determined to impose Sharia law on everyone else. Opinium shared the results with Zeteo, who report:
The survey of 1,000 American Muslims and 500 British Muslims, conducted by Opinium for the Concordia Forum, a transatlantic thinktank and networking group, in October 2025, measured views on democracy, equality, and the intersection of religion and country.
85% of Muslims across Britain and the North of Ireland voted for democracy when asked:
Do you believe democracy is the best system of government for the country you live in or do you think another system would be better?
This compares to 71% of the general population giving the same answer to the question. In the United States, the figures were 81% for Muslims and 67% for the general population. Opinium asked a range of other questions too, including querying Muslims as to whether they had:
…changed [their] routine or avoided certain places due to concerns of anti-Muslim hate or violence.
Survey also finds Muslims are changing lifestyle to avoid threat of violence
Alarmingly, only 15% said they never change their routine. 32% of UK respondents said they “often or “always” make adjustments due to concerns of violence. This fear is rational given the huge rise in Islamophobia in recent years. Tell Mama, a group that measures anti-Muslim prejudice, said in February 2025 that cases of hatred towards practitioners of the faith were at an all-time high. They reported:
…a large rise in the categorisation of ‘threatening behaviour’ in street based cases. This amounts to a 715% increase in such cases between 2023 and 2024.
…surge in rhetoric that falsely portrays Muslims as terrorists or terrorist sympathisers.
This has accelerated during the Gaza genocide, amidst rhetoric from so-called ‘Israel’ and its supporters that cast the Zionist entity as being at the forefront of a battle between a supposedly civilised ‘Judeo-Christian’ axis and a regressive Muslim world. The whole concept of a single Judeo-Christian ideology is a myth, just as much as the ‘clash of civilisations’ narrative.
US political scientist Samuel Huntington concocted the latter concept as a cynical ploy to unite the US against an external enemy. This too was driven by his bigoted fears that a diverse US population would end up internally divided. Huntingdon said:
There can be no true friends without true enemies. Unless we hate what we are not, we cannot love what we are.
Our current ruling class are intent on ensuring we have someone to hate, to distract from the fact they continue to rob us blind. Muslims are still the main fall guy for this tactic. US president Donald Trump attempted to maintain the pretence that Muslims are subverting democracy when he said:
I look at London, where you have a terrible mayor, terrible, terrible mayor, and it’s been changed, it’s been so changed. Now they want to go to sharia law. But you are in a different country, you can’t do that.
This sort of shite seems to be having an effect. A 2024 Hope Not Hate survey of Conservative Party members:
…found that 52% believed parts of European cities were under sharia law and were no-go areas for non-Muslims.
Billionaires are the true haters of democracy
In reality, the people who have the greatest disdain for democracy are authoritarian politicians like Trump and the billionaire class they serve. Trump famously goaded his supporters into an insurrection in 2021, and has ranted to his military about the need to purge an “enemy within”. The brownshirts of his personal paramilitary force ICE have been murdering dissenters around the US.
Billionaires like Peter Thiel loathe the notion that his ilk ought to be constrained by the popular will. He has talked about a desire:
…to find an escape from politics in all its forms.
I no longer believe that freedom and democracy are compatible.
This, of course, is a conception of liberty in which ‘freedom for the pike is death for the minnows‘. Ultra-rich paedo Jeffrey Epstein viewed most people with total disdain, pondering that:
Maybe climate change is a good way of dealing with overpopulation.
His eugenicist fantasies included vile breeding programs to populate the world with his own supposedly superior genetic material. Elon Musk also has a similar disdain for democracy, illustrated by the fact he is a literal Nazi. He likewise shares Epstein’s belief in diluting the world’s gene pool with clones of his deeply flawed self.
Through their overt belief that they are uniquely qualified to rule, these people show us who are the true opponents of democracy. In the case of billionaires, despite never being elected, they reckon they have the right to determine the future of the species. If we want democracy to survive, it’s not Muslims we need worry about — it’s concentrations of extreme wealth and the economic system that makes it possible.
Featured image via MiddleEastEye
“I want a fairer system for students and graduates”
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson says the government will “look at” how it can improve the student loan system but does not commit to reforms called for by opposition parties #BBCLauraK
— BBC Politics (@BBCPolitics) February 22, 2026
A cabinet minister has promised the government is “not ruling anything out” when it comes to the possibility of removing Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor from the line of succession.
The former prince was already stripped of his titles last autumn over his connection to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Fresh details about their relationship saw police arrest Andrew, formerly a UK trade envoy, over allegations of misconduct in public office on Thursday.
He was released under investigation. The former Duke of York has always vehemently denied any wrongdoing.
The developments have sparked widespread calls for the government to take further action against the former prince, who remains eighth in line to the throne.
Doing so would require an act of parliament, meaning it would need approval from MPs and peers before going to the King for royal assent.
It would need to be supported by 14 Commonwealth countries where King Charles is still the head of state, too.
Andrew is also still part of the Privy Council, a formal body of advisers to the monarch, which acts as a key link between the monarchy and the government.
So Sky News presenter Trevor Phillips asked education secretary Bridget Phillipson: “When can we expect to see draft legislation, excluding the form of Prince Andrew from the line of succession?”
She replied: “So we’re not ruling anything out, around this, but we have obviously got a live police investigation underway, so we’ll not be setting out further steps until the police have been able to do their work.
“And wherever that investigation, wherever the evidence takes them.”
Phillips said: “But so you’re up for this and also presumably advising the King to remove him from the Privy Council?”
“So we’ve said that we have to keep all of these options available to us,” the cabinet minister replied. “But you’ll appreciate that because we have a live police investigation underway.
“It’s right that the police are allowed to do their job.
“Once that is concluded, then of course we’ll consider in discussion, with the royal family, with the King, what further action is needed.
“But I do just think as well, in all of this, we really shouldn’t lose sight of where this began.
“And where this began was with young women and girls being exploited over an extended period of time by a network of very powerful men and we can’t ever forget that.”
Her remarks come after defence minister Luke Pollard told BBC Radio 4 that the government has “absolutely” been working with Buckingham Palace to stop Andrew “potentially being a heartbeat away from the throne.”
He said he hoped the idea would receive “cross party support” but warned that something like that could only happen when the police investigation concludes.
Lib Dem leader Ed Davey said last week that the monarchy must work to make sure Andrew can “never become king”, while Green leader Zack Polanski said “when necessary” people should be “removed” from their positions.
Andrew was detained for 11 hours on Thursday, which was his 66th birthday.
Police searched his property on the Sandringham estate on the day and are in the middle of a five-day search of his Windsor home, Royal Lodge.
Several other police forces are allegedly considering launching an investigation into the former prince based on the Epstein files.
It comes after the US Department of Justice released more than three million documents about Epstein and his connections around the world last month, including his contact with Andrew.
Reform UK treasury spokesperson Robert Jenrick tells @TrevorPTweets it ‘wasn’t an easy decision’ to leave the Conservatives, but refuses to respond to Kemi Badenoch’s comments about his defection.
— Sky News (@SkyNews) February 22, 2026
Shadow Education Secretary Laura Trott on Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest and links to Jeffrey Epstein.
— GB News (@GBNEWS) February 22, 2026
The post Trott supports removal of Andrew from royal succession appeared first on Conservative Home.
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