How can Britain plot its future when it is so deeply stuck in the mud? Empower the citizens | John Harris

A debate as vital as assisted dying shouldn't rely on one MP and Starmer's pledge to Esther Rantzen. Is the way to address big issues the model used in Ireland?

No one really saw it coming, but here we are, in the midst of what passes for a watershed debate about assisted dying, centred on the Labour MP Kim Leadbeater's terminally ill adults (end of life) bill, and the huge moral and practical questions that swirl around it.

The weekend's news has been full of the views of people who can speak loudly enough to be heard: three former directors of public prosecutions (all in favour), a former archbishop of Canterbury (ditto) and the healthcare professionals grouped into the Association for Palliative Medicine (against, because legislating to allow assisted dying risks ignoring the lack of adequately funded specialist palliative care services").