One has been to another (updated)

+I’m fed up with Gordon Brown. To be honest, I’ve always been fed up with Gordon Brown. I wish I’d supported Michael Meacher for the leadership of the party all those years ago. But there we are. What’s got my hackles up now is hearing Brown talking of his opposition to the Assisted Dying Bill which faces its second reading this coming Friday. (0n BBC 4's Sunday programme.) Gordon invoked two reasons for his stance. One was the very premature death of his son. Tragic as this was, it has no bearing on the bill. His son was too young to have possibly had mental capacity to make a decision on assisted dying. In other words, it is my view that Brown was invoking a personal tragedy to muddy the waters with feelings of his own which nobody can or should speculate on.

The second grounds of objection appear to be his faith. Yes, the son of the manse has faith! Well, fairy tales don’t cut it with me. In typical Gordon fashion he called for some sort of Commission to look into the question of how adequate our provision of palliative care is. This is the great Aunt Sally of the opponents of assisted dying. If only your dying torment could be mollified with a bit of TLC all will be well! Well sorry Gordon, I seem to remember that you were Chancellor of the Exchequer for 10 years and Prime Minister for three—so how come palliative care was so neglected in those years? Most palliative care in the UK today is delivered by charities and by all accounts they’re struggling.

Frankly I’d be fed up with anybody who wants to tell me how my life should end, but when they come along with a holy book in hand I’d be inclined to say fuck off! (I apologise for that rare vulgarity of the tongue. It’s not like me at all.) Oh, and Gordon funded our part in the Iraq war didn't he? That was a big exercise in assisted dying . . . 

+I've launched a petition on the Parliament website. Here it is. Please click on the link and support it. This is not a scam, which is why It's here on my website!

I’ve made a petition – will you sign it?
Click this link to sign the petition:
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/703466/sponsors/new?token=xAbeW3BXKPViN5BrSvcW
My petition:
Call new Brexit vote with absolute majority of electors voting for final result
(The original Brexit referendum was poorly constructed and in any case was promoted as merely advisory)

CORRECTION: (25/11/24) My apologies to Gordon Brown, the child he lost was a daughter not a son.