With the death of Pope Francis, the world loses not only a church leader but also a moral compass
A dangerous Bill that limits freedom of conscience
The anti-boycott Bill ultimately acts as a way of gagging public bodies and must be opposed, writes Labour peer PAULINE BRYAN

OVER the past few years we have seen many Bills in the House of Lords that show a worrying disregard for humanity, but the anti-boycott Bill is the first, as I far as I know, that actually instructs public bodies to disregard morality.
If we have to rely on the moral compass of this government to set standards, then it will be set at a very low bar.
We should not be surprised because Conservative governments have form for being on the wrong side of history. Just two examples:
More from this author

From the ‘marketisation’ of care services to the closure of cultural venues and criminalisation of youth, a new Red Paper reveals how austerity has weakened communities and disproportionately harmed the most vulnerable, write PAULINE BRYAN and VINCE MILLS

There is little benefit coming to Scotland or the wider UK from projects like Rosebank or Jackdaw – or indeed renewables – as profits are siphoned out of the country by foreign companies, writes PAULINE BRYAN

Unwanted, imposed Tory interventions on Scotland fuelled demands for devolution, and today Labour risks repeating past mistakes if Ian Murray seeks to bypass Holyrood on spending, warns PAULINE BRYAN

With a lack of radical thinking from the Starmer-led UK government, support for Scottish independence is unlikely to evaporate any time soon – spelling trouble ahead for Anas Sarwar, argues PAULINE BRYAN