Assisted dying vote will be ‘very close’ says Leadbeater – live

William Hague has beaten Peter Mandelson to become chancellor of the University of Oxford.

The former Conservative Party leader has been elected, it has been announced.

Earlier this month he warned that the Labour grandee could not be UK ambassador to the US and chancellor.

Sir Keir Starmer may be softening his stance on changes to inheritance tax, according to the boss of the National Farmers’ Union (NFU).

After a meeting in No 10 with the prime minister on Monday, NFU president Tom Bradshaw claimed there was “a more conciliatory tone” regarding the controversial change which some have dubbed a “tractor tax”.

Mr Bradshaw added: “We are trying to give it a bit of room to breathe. He hasn’t guaranteed me anything but I think there is a general softening of lines and I don’t want to stoke the fire.”

Archie Mitchell reports

Domestic abusers will be subjected to strict new restraining orders to stop them from harassing their victims under new measures being rolled out by the government.

Domestic abuse protection notices and orders (DAPNs and DAPOs), which are being launched on Wednesday, are due to be tested out in parts of England and Wales before being implemented across the country.

Along with imposing exclusion zones, the orders can make positive requirements of abusers such as attending behaviour change programmes. Breaching the requirements of an order will be a criminal offence punishable by up to five years in prison.

Maya Oppenheim reports

Dame Esther Rantzen has urged “as many MPs as possible” to attend Friday’s debate and listen to the arguments on both sides to make their minds up on assisted dying.

The broadcaster and Childline founder, who is terminally ill, has been a high-profile voice in the conversation for the past year, repeatedly calling for a change in what she has described as the “cruel” current law.

In an extract from a letter, released through pro-change campaign group Dignity in Dying, Dame Esther said: “This is such a vital life and death issue, one that we the public care desperately about, so it is only right that as many MPs as possible listen to the arguments for and against, and make up your own minds, according to your own conscience, your personal thoughts and feelings.”

Parliament will vote on an assisted dying bill this Friday for the first time in nearly a decade.

Labour MP Kim Leadbeater proposed the Private Members Bill in mid-October, which will legalise assisted death under certain conditions for terminally ill adults in England and Wales.

The Independent analysed public statements from all 650 MPs, in addition to news reports and other available information, to find which MPs will likely vote for or against the assisted dying bill this week. The analysis will be updated as more MPs come forward.

The bill is open to a “free vote”, meaning that the party whips will not dictate whether to support or oppose the bill. Individual MPs are free to vote based on their own values and opinions of their constituents, regardless of whether they are Labour, Tory, or otherwise.

A lawyer fighting to establish what it means to be a woman has argued in the UK’s highest court that sex is an “immutable biological state”.

Aidan O’Neill KC, acting for campaigners in Scotland, made the arguments during the Supreme Court’s hearing of a legal challenge over the definition of what it means to be female.

The landmark case – which began on Tuesday – follows an ongoing debate between the Scottish government and campaigners.

The verdict will determine whether trans women should be considered female under the 2010 Equality Act as the case seeks to decide if sex amounts to the biological sex you are born with or your gender identity in the eyes of the law.

Maya Oppenheim reports

That we are one people under God has long been the cornerstone of our treatment of others. Take it away and you take away what it means to be human, writes Catherine Pepinster

9.30am: The Office for National Statistics (ONS) to publish data about domestic abuse in England and Wales.

Morning: Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Liz Kendall, the work and pensions secretary, are due to visit a mental health charity in London.

Midday: Keir Starmer faces Kemi Badenoch at PMQs.

12.30ish: Business secretary Jonathan Reynolds will make a statement to the Commons about.

3.30pm: Foreign secretary David Lammy it due to give evidence to the Foreign Affairs Committee.

Business secretary Jonathan Reynolds will give a statement in the Commons today after announcing a “fast-track” consultation on plans for boosting the number of electric vehicles.

Asked whether the phase out of new petrol and diesel vehicles under the zero-emission vehicles (Zev) mandate could happen as quickly as planned, minister Stephen Morgan told Sky News: “We’re going to work very closely with industry UK to make sure that this is rolled out effectively.

“There will be a consultation, which I know the Business Secretary will be setting out in due course, and there will be a statement in the House later today.”

He added: “It is absolutely right that we’ve got the right infrastructure in place to make this a suitable journey and an easy journey for motorists to move towards … We’ve set out the ambition, we obviously need to take consumers with us.

“And I know that Johnny Reynolds would do a good job on this work, and he will also be setting out more detail on this later in the House.”