The assisted dying bill is about to die, killed off by a small coterie of peers against the will of the House of Commons and voters who have supported the right to die for decades. Can the government let this happen? Keir Starmer, who has voted in favour of the legislation, needs to summon the spirit of Harold Wilson’s 1960s reforms. He has the powers to push it through, whatever it takes.

If the Lords block this, it should be their last gasp. Their outrageous behaviour illuminates everything grotesque about the upper house. There is no telling with any certainty how the vote would go among this eclectic parade of 844 who range from good to very bad indeed, but plainly opponents of the bill think they would lose as they filibuster to prevent a vote at all. Back in the Lords tomorrow and then for seven more Fridays, at this pace there is no chance it will get through in time, unless the blockers give up immediately.

The Tories plotting against the bill are a gleeful Lords reunion of the old Brexit gang – Michael Gove, David Frost, Mark Harper and Thérèse Coffey – reprising the same dirty tricks with the same cunning. They know the loss will humiliate Labour and Starmer, who gave time for this private member’s bill. Absurdly, opponents deny this is a filibuster, but watch them tomorrow in the Lords and see them talk very slowly, making identical speeches on identical or crass amendments. Last week, they piled into the preceding debate on the........

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